Saturday, June 5, 2010

Slow Saturday Special: Excusing the Economy

It's why I don't spend a lot of time on jobs or in the Globe business section anymore.

Months worth of lies is enough.


"Bleak news on jobs adds gloom to market; Majority of new hires were only temporary" by Steven Syre, Globe Staff | June 5, 2010

US companies created only a handful of new jobs in May, casting fresh doubts on the strength of the economic recovery and sending the stock market into a tailspin yesterday.

What recovery?


"New claims for US unemployment benefits fell to 453,000 last week, according to government data published Thursday, in the latest sign of a slowly improving job market."

Yeah, WATER STILL GUSHING INTO the BOAT -- or, if you prefer, oil into the gulf -- but EVERYTHING LOOKING GOOD!

Those are first time unemployment claims, folks.


The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the country’s nonfarm employment increased by 431,000 jobs last month, but nearly all of those were government hires, temporary positions related to the 2010 census. Less than one-tenth of the new jobs — 41,000 — were at companies in the private sector....

Translation: No jobs were created; in fact, we lost jobs -- AGAIN!

But don't worry; the Globe explains it all away
:

Some sectors of the economy did add jobs, including manufacturing, while others suffered notable losses. The construction industry lost 35,000 jobs in May, ordinarily a busy time of year for the building trades. Another less-than-reassuring sign: One of the sectors reporting the largest job growth remains the temporary help business, indicating that employers are still not ready to take the next step and make permanent hires.

I'll touch upon that a bit below.

The employment report had a particularly bleak view of life for those without jobs.

Hi, readers; actually, this has turned into my (non-paying) job.

I hate my work.


If the AmeriKan MSM were truly doing its job I would not be here.


The average duration of unemployment increased to 34.4 weeks, from 33 weeks in April, and is now the longest period on record for Americans waiting to return to work. The hiring picture was also considerably dimmer than what President Obama had predicted. Earlier in the week, the president said the May report would show “strong job growth.’’

As that didn’t turn out, Obama’s tone yesterday was more modulated, as he sought to remind people the economy recovery was still in its early stages....

The president urged patience, said his policies are working, and added the economy is “moving in the right direction’’ because it is nonetheless producing jobs again.

Does this man understand how angry he is making us with his continuing bulls***?

And not only over the economy.

Including the new government positions, the overall 413,000 job increase was the single largest one-month gain in a decade, and helped drive the nation’s unemployment rate to 9.7 percent from 9.9 percent.

Isn't playing with numbers fun?

But economists and investors looked right past those headline numbers yesterday. Economists had been expecting much larger job gains in May — at 100,000 more on average — so the particularly weak showing by private sector employers was an unexpected jolt to Wall Street.

I'm tired of the "experts" being "unexpectedly" surprised.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed yesterday below 10,000, the second time in two weeks, ending yesterday down 323.31 points at 9,931.97, its lowest close in nearly four months. All 30 stocks in the benchmark index lost value, reflecting broad anxiety about the direction of the economy.

“People are beginning to feel that the pace of the economic improvement is slowing,’’ said Ken Taubes, chief US investment officer for Pioneer Investments in Boston. “People are scaling back their expectations.’’

Assuming we had any and were buying the BS.

Investors and economists blamed some of the sluggish economic growth on the European debt crisis, reasoning that American companies are worried about the health of one of the world’s largest consumer markets and therefore holding back on hiring.

Here come the excuses.

“My sense is there’s going to be some significant pulling back of spending, mainly in terms of hiring, until the dust blows over,’’ said economist Brian Bethune of IHS Global Insight in Lexington. “What we’ve seen consistently is that the American business sector has been able to adjust’’ to changing economic developments.

Indeed, just yesterday Hungary said that its economy was in “very grave’’ condition, after that country’s new government determined it may not have the money to pay its debt. That brings to at least four — including Greece, Spain, and Portugal — the number of European countries whose debt problems have become so severe they are affecting the continent’s economy.

Yeah, and who is loaded to the gills with about $14 TRILLION, America?

HELLO?!!?

Hungary’s unsettling disclosure helped push the euro below $1.20 for the first time since 2006, as investors feared the financial contagion would continue to spread through Europe. The euro is now down more than 20 percent against the US dollar since its most recent peak in November.

I guess that globalist project has been ruined by the usurious banksters, but....

Europe’s problems are but one factor that has kept US stock markets on edge for the past few months. Contradictory economic reports have sharply increased the volatility of stock prices, and on bad days helped to erase some of the huge gains markets had posted since the meltdown from the global credit crisis in 2008.

A bull market that began in March 2009 brought stocks back 70 percent from their 2008 lows. But since peaking in April, US stocks have fallen 11 percent.

The economy, and consequently stock markets, often move in fits and starts during the early stages of a recovery. The first months can often be marked by slow job creation, while stocks frequently retreat after steep climbs....

Had enough of the BS yet?

But strong job growth is more important in this recovery because unemployment is especially high and the nation lost so many jobs in 2008 and 2009.

Yeah, OVER 8 MILLION and COUNTING!!!!

“I think investors need to see evidence the economic recovery, although halting, is intact,’’ said James Weiss of Weiss Capital Management in Concord.

And going forward, the economy can’t rely on the US Census for new job growth....

So the GREAT NUMBERS have been JIMMIED by the GOVERNMENT, huh?!!!!

--more--"

And about those jobs
:

"Lots of jobs may be gone forever; Leaner staffs are new norm in some fields" by Christopher S. Rugaber, Associated Press | May 14, 2010

WASHINGTON — Fewer construction workers will be needed. Don’t expect as many interior designers or advertising copywriters, either. Retailers will get by with leaner staffs.

The economy is strengthening. But millions of jobs lost in the recession could be gone for good.

And unlike in past recessions, jobs in the beleaguered manufacturing sector are not the only ones likely lost forever.

And we are told for months and months that manufacturing jobs have increased (including above).

Related: Slow Saturday Special: Three Strikes and You're Out

F***ing MSM liars!!!

What sets the Great Recession apart is the variety of jobs that may not return.

I call it the GRAND DEPRESSION because IT IS ONGOING, world!

That helps explain why economists think it will take at least five years for the economy to regain the 8.2 million jobs wiped out by the recession....

It means that even as the economy strengthens, more Americans could face years out of work....

Then the economy isn't really strengthening, is it?

Yeah, the LYING is why I no longer bother with business bulls*** from the Glob.

Behind the trend are the cutbacks businesses made in the recession to make up for a loss of customers. To sustain earnings, they became more productive: They found ways to produce the same level of goods or services with fewer workers.

AmeriKan slaves always work so hard!

Automation, global competition, and technological efficiencies helped solidify the trend.

Diminished home equity and investment accounts have made shoppers more cautious, too. And their frugality could endure well into the recovery. That is why fewer retail workers, among others, will likely be needed.

US employers did add 290,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent, though, because 805,000 people without jobs poured into the labor force to seek work.

Three industries, in particular, where many jobs may not be coming back are retailing, manufacturing, and advertising....

Of course, MSM has been claiming for months that manufacturing is leading the recovery.

See: MSM Manufacturing an Economic Recovery

Boston Globe Job Market

The day the liars are out of work will be a great day for this country.

Manufacturing has shed 2.1 million jobs, or 16 percent of its total, since the recession began.

But they are leading the recovery:

Jobs in the House!

Liking the lies yet, readers?

Goodyear Tire & Rubber and Boeing Co. laid off a combined 15,700 people during the recession. General Motors eliminated 65,000 through buyouts and layoffs. And as Americans buy fewer cars and homes, more than 1 million jobs in the auto, steel, furniture and other industries won’t return, according to estimates by Moody’s Analytics....

We have been TOLD there are THREE QUARTERS of GROWTH so WTF?!!!

--more--"

But hey, LOOK WHO GOT a JOB in this agenda-pushing PoS FILLER!!!


"2 years later, job hunter on prowl no longer; N.Y. man became face of recession" by Samantha Gross, Associated Press | April 25, 2010

NEW YORK — When laid-off toy company executive Paul Nawrocki hit the streets of Manhattan wearing a sandwich board and handing out his resume, he became the face of the recession.

At the end of 2008, with Wall Street companies collapsing and bank accounts dwindling, this lone job hunter with the sign proclaiming he was “almost homeless’’ seemed like a mirror of a slumping nation’s fears and troubles.

Nawrocki appeared on CNN and was shadowed by South American photojournalists. In a handful of weeks, he gave more than 100 interviews in TV studios and on the street. He began to think of his photograph like a Post-it note — stuck next to seemingly every article about the economy.

Did anyone take notice of you, average American?

The world decided he was a weather vane for the nation’s economic troubles. And maybe he was: Even though the attention faded, his troubles did not.

Having the eyes of the world on him didn’t land the then-59-year-old any viable job interviews.

His wife was sick, and keeping his health care was a struggle. He began to decide between the doctors and the mortgage.

That single-payer plan sure would have come in handy, huh?

Too bad we the government has WASTED TRILLIONS on wars and banks.

Well, if Paul Nawrocki is a sign of the times, then times are looking up. Because last month, after collecting 99 weeks of unemployment, Nawrocki finally found a job.

Related: Senate Balks on Unemployment Benefits in Favor of Bank Bailouts

Senate to Let Unemployment Extensions Expire

He is not the only one.

Do I have your permission to puke, dear readers?

While unemployment remains high, the nation added 162,000 jobs last month — the first significant job growth since the downturn began.

“It was good. It felt good,’’ the Beacon, N.Y., resident said of his first day back at an office — 25 months after he was asked to leave his old one.

In the end, his path back to work was through old-fashioned networking.

Translation: It is WHO YOU KNOW!

I wish I knew someone.

He went to a toy industry fair, and a friend introduced him to the man who would become his boss.

Nawrocki believes the tales of his sandwich-board days helped him land an interview.

Oh, the MSM helped him out, huh?

PFFT!


--more--"

And if you were lucky enough to receive unemployment, look out?


"Contesting unemployment claims is growing business; Firm generates many complaints for errors, delays" by Jason DeParle, New York Times | April 4, 2010

WASHINGTON — With a client list that reads like a roster of Fortune 500 firms, a little-known company with an odd name, the Talx Corp., has come to dominate a thriving industry: helping employers process — and fight — unemployment claims....

The work has made Talx a boom business in a bust economy, but critics say the company has undermined a crucial safety net....

Advocates for the unemployed say the company seeks to keep jobless workers from collecting benefits....

But bankers, war-profiteers, well-connected corporations, lootislators, Israel.... sigh.


When fewer former workers get aid, a company pays lower unemployment taxes.

Wisconsin and Iowa passed laws to curtail procedural abuses that officials said were common in cases handled by Talx. Connecticut fined Talx and demanded an end to baseless appeals. New York, without naming Talx, instructed staff employees to side with workers in cases that simply pit their word against those of agents for employers....

In the case of unemployed worker Dina Griess, Talx and its client, the subprime lender Countrywide Financial, were involved in what a judge deemed an outright fraud.

Griess worked for Countrywide outside Boston and quit as it collapsed in 2008, saying she was distressed by internal investigations of lending practices. People can receive unemployment benefits if they quit for “good cause,’’ like unsafe working conditions, but Talx argued that Griess did not meet the legal standard.

She won benefits at a hearing that Talx and Countrywide skipped, but Talx successfully appealed, saying that the Countrywide witness had missed the hearing because of a family death. Later asked under oath whether that was true, the witness said, “No, it’s not.’’

A Massachusetts judge reviewing the case, Robert A. Cornetta of Salem District Court, denounced the deceit. “The court will not be party to a fraud,’’ he said, in ruling for Griess.

Advocates for the unemployed also cite cases like that of Gerald Grenier, 47, who spent four years as a night janitor at a Wal-Mart in New Hampshire and was fired for pocketing several dollars in coins from a vending machine.

Grenier, who is mentally disabled, told Wal-Mart he forgot to turn in the change....

After Grenier waited three months for a hearing, Wal-Mart did not appear. A Talx agent joined by phone, then seemingly hung up as Grenier testified. The hearing officer redialed and left an unanswered message on the agent’s voicemail. The officer called Grenier “completely credible’’ and granted him benefits.

Talx appealed, claiming the officer had denied the agent’s request to let Wal-Mart testify by phone. (A recording of the hearing contains no such request.)

Grenier won the appeal, but by then he had lost his apartment and moved in with his sister.

Despite the large role that Talx and other agents play in a program that spent $120 billion last year, the federal Department of Labor has done little to measure their impact.

Talx declined to make clients available to interviews, citing pledges of confidentiality, and none of those contacted chose to comment.

Other major employers that have used Talx include Aetna, Best Buy, FedEx, AT&T, Marriott, Home Depot, McDonald’s, and the United States Postal Service. (The New York Times uses Talx for a different service, to answer inquiries from lenders about its employees’ earnings.)

Related:
The New York Times is the Exception to the Rule

Going to look into those executive bonuses, Talx, or.... ?????

You Globe employees got such a reaming from your parent.


--more--"

And retirement?

Forget it, Americans!


"They’re just not the retiring type; The fastest growing segment of the workforce is the over-75 set — and as these stalwarts attest, work adds life" by Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | May 22, 2010

Honestly, I'm sick of front-page feature horse shit from the Glob.

Staying employed means staying healthy, active — and alive....

Yeah, if you ever quit working you will die, serf-slaves of AmeriKa!!!


Often, economic reasons fuel seniors’ desire to keep working. Others find a sense of identity and community at their jobs....

Yup, NO GOLDEN YEARS from the INSULTING GLOB!


--more--"

All so BANKERS, WAR-LOOTERS, CORPORATIONS, ISRAEL, and "PUBLIC SERVANTS" can HAVE MORE, folks!


You know, the people for whom the paper is pushing the agenda.