"Affluent shoppers spent more"
There is your growth, America.
Let's start at the top:
"Bonuses could rise 40% on Wall Street; Restrictions lifted as bailouts repaid" by Stephen Bernard, Associated Press | November 6, 2009
I want my money back -- not part of some banker's slush fund.
NEW YORK - Big bonuses could be back in store for some top executives and traders on Wall Street as profitability returned to the investment banking industry in 2009, according to a study released yesterday.
Johnson Associates said employees at companies that no longer are under strict government oversight are likely to find a big boost in their year-end paychecks compared with 2008. But pay is still likely to fall below that seen in 2007 when the stock market and bonuses peaked, the compensation consulting firm said. Overall, Johnson Associates projects workers at Wall Street banks will see between a 30 percent and 40 percent jump in year-end bonuses in 2009 compared with last year.
Have they no conscience?
I've never seen such a pack of vermin in my entire life.
The increase in pay is likely to be even larger than average for equities, bonds, and derivatives traders who have helped drive profits at their respective firms as the market has surged nearly nonstop since hitting a 12-year low in March.
It hurts just to read and report this. You are taking such a bath at the hands of these banksters, America. Why are none of them in jail?
Banking bonuses have been a hot-button political issue as financial markets have recovered much faster than the broader economy and the nation’s unemployment rate approaches 10 percent. Improving markets allowed some major financial firms to repay their bailout money to the government and now can set their sights on paying employees without restrictions. The government gave hundreds of banks money last year as the credit crisis peaked and investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed. With that money came restrictions on executive compensation. For companies like Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co. that have already repaid their government bailout, the restrictions have been lifted, freeing them up to lavish employees with bonuses.
While the American people are sleeping in the streets or tent camps.
So how many more houses is the Goldman's guy going to buy?
Goldman had set aside $16.71 billion, or about 47 percent of net revenue, through the first nine months of the year for compensation, which includes salaries, bonuses, and associated costs such as benefits and payroll taxes.
Related: The Galling Greed of Goldman Sachs
Government Can't Add When it Comes to Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs Says It Will Be a Very Merry Christmas
Yeah, for them!
Last month, Goldman’s chief financial officer, David Viniar, said decisions on bonuses are not made until year’s end, and the company would be taking into account the economic climate when decisions are made. The bank earned more than $3 billion in the third quarter. Pay packages for workers at banks still holding government money, like Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., are likely to see restrictions in their bonuses, Johnson Associates said in its projections.
Whatever they get, they are ALL OVERPAID LOOTERS!
--more--"
So how did you do, average 'murkn?
"October sales lift merchants; Increase bodes well for holidays" by Anne D’Innocenzio, Associated Press | November 6, 2009
NEW YORK - October’s retail sales results, the best performance since April 2008, show that Americans are spending a little more. But will they be willing to pay full price this holiday season?
Shoppers still face tight credit and a weak job market and might wait for fat discounts or not buy at all. That game of chicken will determine the holiday winners and losers....
I'm sick of the divisive MSM insults, I really am. If it is not the crap qualifiers I was taught never to use, it's the smarmy, elitist insults and divisive rhetoric.
Sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.1 percent last month, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally, compared with a 4.2 percent drop in October 2008. October results beat estimates for a 1 percent gain....
Oh, Goldman says? Grain of salt, please.
For the holidays, more consumers will pay full price and shop earlier than a year ago because they are afraid the merchandise they want will not be there later, says Carl Steidtmann, an economist at Deloitte Research, who forecasts holiday sales will be unchanged from a year ago.
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! Who has he been talking to? What BULLS***!!!!!!
But he also noted that while reduced stock will help boost store profits, it will probably limit sales as merchants run out of products....
They need not worry because I'm not buying any this year.
Merchants announced their second consecutive monthly sales gain after more than a year of declines. Improving figures all pointed to sales momentum, encouraging as the industry heads into the holiday season.
Says the lying MSM with fingers crossed!
Affluent shoppers spent more on designer duds, delivering gains for Saks and Nordstrom. Discount retailer BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc., based in Natick, Mass., said sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.1 percent in October, citing declining gas sales....
Which tells you AVERAGE America is STILL SUFFERING!!!!
--more--"
At least there are service jobs in this s*** economy:
WASHINGTON - US service industries expanded more slowly than forecast in October, indicating that consumers spooked by mounting job losses are making a limited contribution to the economic recovery....
Yup, it is ALL YOUR FAULT, tapped-out consumers!!!
Related: Consumers Cutting Debt Killed Recovery
Out-of-Work Americans Killed Economic Recovery
Slow Saturday Special: U.S. Consumers Killed Economic Recovery
And after the BANKSTERS had everything poised for a recovery!
Then YOU SCREWED IT UP, overburdened consumer!
The reports highlight concerns of Federal Reserve policy makers that labor-market weakness threatens to curb consumer spending, leaving the economy dependent on government aid to maintain the expansion....
WHAT EXPANSION? The JOB LOSSES CONTINUE!
And just WHERE does GOVERNMENT AID come from?
Well, from TAXPAYERS!
So what they are saying is the GOVERNMENT is going to BORROW against YOUR TAX PAYMENTS so they can PAY INTEREST to the Fed and "stimulate" the economy with the MONEY they STOLE FROM YOU!
And YOU ARE GRATEFUL. America?!
You would have been BETTER OFF if they let you KEEP THAT MONEY YOURSELF!
A separate report from ADP Employer Services signaled unemployment will keep climbing....
That is a CONTRACTION, not an EXPANSION, MSM!!
--more--"
Hence:
"Senate extends aid for jobless, home buyers" by Jim Abrams, Associated Press | November 5, 2009
WASHINGTON - Recognizing that a weak economy still needs a government boost, the Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday to provide the jobless with up to 20 weeks in additional unemployment benefits and expand a first-time home buyer tax credit to include a far larger pool of people entering the dormant housing market.
The $24 billion bill, passed 98-to-0, also provides tax relief for struggling businesses. It comes to the rescue of more than 1 million out-of-work people who will run out of benefits by the end of the year. Everyone will receive 14 weeks of additional benefits, while those in states with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent and above get six weeks on top of that.
We NEED JOBS, not TAXPAYER-FUNDED HANDOUTS!
With enactment, the jobless in the hardest-hit states could receive up to 99 weeks of benefits, which average about $300 a week. That would well exceed the previous record of 65 weeks during the 1970s....
Readers, that is TWO YEARS WORTH of UNEMPLOYMENT!!!!
Congress has no choice but to act when there are 15 million jobless chasing 3 million jobs and 7,000 people run out of benefits every day, said Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat. Economists talk about the end of the recession, he said, but “for most Americans, it will still be some time before things start getting better.’’
I'm sick of the disingenuous political pap.
Where you been for the LAST 30 YEARS?!!!!
The bill bogged down in the Senate, first when senators from states with lower jobless rates demanded that the extension apply to all people exhausting their benefits, then with negotiations over adding the home buyer and business tax credits. Then, Republicans held up floor action when Democrats blocked them from offering amendments on matters unrelated to the base bill....
Yeah, but they had "no choice but to act" and are "coming to your rescue."
Sigh!
The legislation now goes to the House, which is expected to quickly approve it and send it to President Obama for his signature....
They did and he did.
Add 800 more to the list:
"Microsoft cutting another 800 jobs" by Erin Ailworth | November 5, 2009
Microsoft Corp. is eliminating 800 jobs worldwide, including several dozen in Massachusetts, as part of a larger effort to cut costs and increase efficiency, a spokesman said yesterday....
What, $4 BILLION in PROFIT Not Good Enough?
The cuts are in addition to 5,000 positions that in January Microsoft said it would eliminate. The company originally expected to complete that downsizing by June 2010, but a spokesman said yesterday that those jobs were already mostly gone....
Sounds like AmeriKa!
--more--"
Related: Microsoft Loading Loot
Bonding With Microsoft
And you WORK SO HARD, Americans!
"Productivity surges most in 6 years" by Bloomberg News | November 6, 2009
WASHINGTON - Worker productivity surged at the fastest pace in six years, labor costs fell, and unemployment claims were lower than forecast, signaling companies may be preparing to start hiring again.
That is because PEOPLE DROPPED OFF the ROLLS after EXHAUSTING they BENEFITS that were just extended!
I'm SO TIRED of the DECEPTIVE SPIN, MSM!
Productivity, a measure of employee output per hour, jumped at a 9.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, exceeding the highest economist forecast, according to Labor Department figures released yesterday.
Oh, Labor Department said, huh? Salt shaker please!
Initial jobless claims dropped by 20,000 to 512,000 in the week ended Oct. 31, the fewest since January. A report today may show that employers cut jobs at the slowest pace in more than a year as they begin to anticipate sales gains.
Went over ten percent!
“Business investment spending and employment will be pushed higher in the next few months,’’ predicted Dean Maki, chief US economist at Barclays Capital in New York....
Look, they LIED about the PAST so why would they be telling the truth about the future?
Unemployment claims were forecast to fall to 522,000 from an originally reported 530,000 a week earlier, according to the median of 42 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Labor costs fell at a 5.2 percent rate, capping the biggest 12-month drop since records began in 1948 and exceeding the median forecast for a 4.2 percent decline projected by economists.
Translation: the JOB LOSSES are a GREAT THING!
--more--"
Ah, screw you then stoo-pid saps!
Just WHO are you "serving" anyway?
"Courting gay travelers; Mass. tourism agencies directing more efforts to draw lucrative market" by Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff | November 6, 2009
Local tourism agencies are among the groups trying to appeal to these travelers, who represent a small fraction of the overall market but have a median household income of $86,400 and spent $70 billion on travel last year, according to the San Francisco-based market research firm Community Marketing Inc.
Yeah, Get Me to the Church on Time.
Massachusetts is in a prime position to benefit from this group’s spending power. Boston is the 11th most visited US destination among American gay and lesbian travelers, and Provincetown is viewed as one of the top five gay-friendly cities, according to Community Marketing, which held its 10th International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism in Boston earlier this week.
I'm surprised the Globe was so quiet about it.
Related: Gay Bigots Reside in Massachusetts
Yeah, turns out they are not that friendly.
And the fact that Massachusetts was the first US state to legalize same-sex marriage will go a long way in attracting gay and lesbian travelers, said Community Marketing president Thomas Roth. “I think it will generate loyalty for a long, long time,’’ he said.
I doubt it: The Joy of Marriage
Massachusetts is also the only state besides Florida whose tourism office has started marketing to gay and lesbian travelers.
Imagine if they advertised just for whites. What would the reaction be?
Yes, SOME DISCRIMINATION and EXCLUSION is ACCEPTABLE, isn't it?
The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism featured same-sex couples in a tourism campaign last year, and in January the office launched a $50,000 marketing effort aimed at these travelers.
Those are YOUR TAX DOLLARS being used while SERVICES are being SLASHED, Massachusetts!
Related (warning: links contain sickening photographs):
Pornographic Protest Photos
Sickening San FranSickos doing it in public
I'm sure THOSE PHOTOS did not make the website!
How would you like to see them in YOUR TOWN?
The effort includes a rainbow-flag-colored link to a gay-oriented site on the www.massvacation.com home page (the state’s official tagline, “It’s all here,’’ has been extended to “It’s all here for everyone’’ for the campaign)....
That's why we are LOSING POPULATION!!
Who wants to live in such a morally degenerate state?
And serving them for what?
"Renting may help stem foreclosures" by Bloomberg News | November 6, 2009
WASHINGTON - About 18.8 million US homes stood empty during the third quarter as banks seized properties from delinquent borrowers, the Census Bureau says. About 937,840 households received notices of default, forced auction, or foreclosure in the quarter, which ended Sept. 30, according to RealtyTrac Inc....
Where was YOUR BAILOUT, America?
"Uncertain appetite for oil cuts price" by Associated Press | November 6, 2009
NEW YORK - Oil prices slipped yesterday as investors questioned whether the country would regain its appetite for petroleum....
So the economy will NOT be coming back!
Economists, including those at Cambridge Energy Research Associates, have predicted world energy demand will continue to slide as automakers build cars with better mileage and countries embrace alternative fuels. Oil prices had increased for several months, primarily tracking the decline in the dollar. Crude barrels are priced in US currency. But concerns about large petroleum surpluses and poor consumer demand have raised doubts about how high oil can go.
Well, if we have LARGE SURPLUSES and LOW DEMAND, prices SHOULD BE going DOWN! So why are they talking about RISING PRICES?
Because YOUR DOLLAR is being DESTROYED, America!
--more--"
Related:
"Author Says G-20 Meeting in Scotland this Week about Dumping U.S. Dollar Best-selling author Daniel Estulin states that the key issue to be discussed this week at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, being held in St. Andrews, Scotland, is how to bring down the present world financial system through dumping the US dollar. Estulin first reported on this initiative as being deliberated at the most recent Bilderberg meeting held in Greece in May 2009. Estulin says that the success or failure of this callous plan hinges on the ability of the US and UK representatives to convince the Russian, the Chinese and other national governments to go along with their scheme.
Credit card companies are rushing to increase interest rates to historic highs of more than 30 percent, cut credit limits, and add new fees, even for customers who pay their bills on time....
Snip, snip, snip... instant plastic confetti.
Ken Clayton, a senior vice president of the American Bankers Association, a trade group, said recent rate increases were not an effort to circumvent the new regulations, but the result of massive losses faced by the credit card industry because of the recession. More than 10 percent of all credit card customers have defaulted on payments this year, he said. “There’s a shared risk here,’’ he said. “Credit card companies are making loans to people every day and the rates people are charged are affected by whether people are paying them back.’’
There are no limits on how much interest a credit card company can charge, and the new law, passed in May, will not change that....
WTF? You USURIOUS BASTARDS!!!
To counteract the barrage of hikes, a bill now under consideration in Congress would move up to Dec. 1 enactment of the new rules. The House approved the accelerated plan Wednesday. But the bill’s prospects in the Senate appear dim....
I give up on them down there.
Some consumer groups called for a 36 percent cap on credit card rates, but US Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the Financial Services Committee and is a leader in the effort to revamp credit card policies, said legislators did not institute a limit because most credit card companies would immediately “go up to that rate.’’
What a WEAK EXCUSE!
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Banker's Bag of Goodies
What a PoS!
While credit cards are becoming more expensive, interest rates set by the Federal Reserve have been at record lows for a year, allowing banks and credit card issuers to borrow money more cheaply....
Then they GOUGE YOU!
In the past, lenders have charged up to 30 percent, but typically only to risky customers. But such rates are now being applied to many more consumers, including those with pristine credit.
Snip, snip, snip... instant plastic confetti.
In addition to upping interest rates, banks are using fees to generate revenue, said Lauren Bowne, a staff attorney at Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, noting that some consumers have even been assessed fees for not using their cards often enough....
What a FLIPPIN' RACKET, huh?
The upward trend in rates and fees has led to calls for even more regulation from consumer groups like the Industrial Areas Foundation. Spokesman Arnie Graf said many major banks are recouping lost profits at consumers’ expense.
Don't you just LOVE THIS ECONOMIC SYSTEM?!
Many of the nation’s biggest credit card issuers are banks that benefited from billions in taxpayer money to help them recover from their own bad investments, he said.
Yup, BANKSTERS' GRATITUDE -- right up there with CROCODILE TEARS!
“These are essentially dead banks borrowing from the government at nearly zero percent and loaning it out at 29.99 percent,’’ Graf said. “Hell, anyone can do that.’’
Yeah, and it is called USURY!!
***********************************
As a result of ever-escalating rates and fees, cardholders like Carole Hoppe Mezian of Norwood dread the arrival of their monthly statements. Hoppe Mezian carries a $10,000 balance on her Discover card and says she sometimes can’t make payments on time. Since May, her interest rate has ballooned from 14.99 percent to 29.99 percent, and the minimum due on her September bill was $771, mostly in interest and penalties. “I might have been better off going to the Mafia and getting a loan that way,’’ she said....
The Boston Globe is a Mouthpiece For the Jewish Mafia
Boston Globe Protecting Jewish Mafia
Maybe you better not go to them.
--more--"So how are you going to pay for those pills, America?
"FTC reviewing CVS Caremark practices" by Associated Press | November 6, 2009
NEW YORK - Also yesterday, CVS disclosed more multibillion dollar contract losses in its pharmacy benefits management business and said the head of the unit will depart. Chief executive Tom Ryan said CVS won’t reach its goals in 2010 because of the sharp reversal of fortunes at the Caremark unit, which administers drug benefits for employers.
CVS said third-quarter profit jumped 39 percent to $1.02 billion....
Related: Welcome to the Wonderful World of Biologics
Time to get some food and watch the ball game, readers:
"Economy’s woes driving more people to local food pantries; Requests on rise ahead of holidays" by Meghan E. Irons, Globe Staff | November 6, 2009
Rising unemployment, faltering wages, and a lingering recession are driving more families and individuals to their local food pantries, agency officials across the state said yesterday.
Of course, the MSM and government have been saying recovery for months.
What liars!
The Greater Boston Food Bank is reporting that requests for Thanksgiving turkeys has increased this year, outstripping last year, when the recession was taking hold....
Translation: One year later, it is WORSE!!!!
And FOR the RECORD, the RECESSION BEGAN in DECEMBER of 2007 -- ONE FULL YEAR BEFORE this "reporter's" insinuation!!!!
The DECEPTION and LIES NEVER STOP!!! Hard to eat when you are angry!
“The recession may be over in technical terms, but unemployment is not,’’ said Catherine D’Amato, president of the Greater Boston Food Bank. “While we all agree that things feel better than 12 months ago, it is going take some time.’’
Why? Because MSM and government tell you they are?
Food banks across the state say the wave of people seeking donations at food pantries, shelters, and residential programs are trying to save cash to pay for other necessities, such as prescriptions and bills. “I see more and more people that one would expect to do fine, but they tell me they are struggling,’’ said Andrew Morehouse, executive director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
While WALL STREET gets a 40% INCREASE in BONUSES!!!!
Morehouse said visits to the food bank’s pantries, shelters, and programs increased by 17 percent during the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year, from 679,000 to 797,000. Meals served at those programs also increased by 25 percent, to 4.4 million between January and August, compared with 3.5 million during the same period last year.
“It’s a greater increase than the year before,’’ said Morehouse, whose agency serves Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, and Berkshire counties. “And it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone,’’ he said, “given the deepening recession that this country has seen.’’
Yes, I KNOW, I can SEE IT with MY OWN EYES!!!
To address the demand, the food bank has begun offering food stamp advice to some families ashamed of the stigma associated with food pantries....
Update:
"Jobless rate tops 10 pct. for first time since '83" by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | November 6, 2009
WASHINGTON --The unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since 1983 -- and is likely to go higher. The 10.2 percent jobless rate for October shows how weak the economy remains even though it is growing....
The 10.2 percent unemployment rate does not include people without jobs who have stopped looking for work or those who have settled for part-time jobs. If you counted those people, the unemployment rate would be 17.5 percent, the highest on records dating from 1994. "It's not a good report," said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist for New York-based investment firm Miller Tabak & Co. "What we're seeing is a validation of the idea that a jobless recovery is perfectly on track."
Then it is NOT a RECOVERY!
****************************
There were some bright spots in the report. Education and health care added 45,000 jobs. Professional and business services companies added 18,000 jobs. The beleaguered auto industry added 4,600 jobs, its first gain since July. And temporary employment grew by 33,700 jobs, its third straight month of gains after steep losses earlier this year. That's a positive sign because employers are likely to add temporary workers before hiring permanent ones....
Yup, slap a shoe shine on the turd, MSM!
I just lost my appetite.
