Global Economy Bursting?

[DTB]

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW): Jim Cramer ranked this stock a Buy. The stock closed at $26.91, its 52-week high is $27.57, and its 52-week low is $18.07. http://wallstcheatsheet.com/investing/jim-cramer-buy-and-sell-these-stocks-feb-9th.html/

This recommendation was on 2/10, I believe. Lay off people and expect increased profits. Corporate duty to maximize shareholder profit.

There has been some movement (CEO roundtables) toward "shareholder sustainability" rather than short term quarterly goals. This would be a good thing for our country. We could all go back to buying stock in good solid companies for our retirement portfolios instead of having to be day traders to make any money. AND companies would not lay off so quickly in downturns as it is very expensive to hire and rehire well trained people.

Well, it is consolidating up around 2 year highs, which is a good sign of price acceptance and potentially more upside.

If I traded individual equities, this one would be with a stop just below $26 and see where it just may go.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Student Loans Could Be America's Next 'Debt Bomb,' Report Finds

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/08/student-loan-debt-bankruptcy_n_1263348.html

Growing numbers of Americans are finding themselves bankrupt, with their college diplomas partially to blame.

As college costs spiral out of control and public universities cut back on financial aid, more students and their parents are taking on loans to pay tuition, according to the Los Angeles Times. At about one trillion dollars, Americans' student loan debt surpassed credit card debt for the first time in history in August 2010.

Americans that graduated college with loans in 2010 owe an average of about $25,000 -- a five percent boost from the year before, according to The Project on Student Debt. In addition, because they faced an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent upon graduation they're at a disadvantage when it comes to paying back the loans.


SURVEY: 4 OUT 5 U.S. BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEYS REPORT MAJOR JUMP IN STUDENT LOAN
DEBTORS SEEKING HELP, FEARS GROW OF NEXT MORTGAGE-STYLE DEBT THREAT TO U.S.

http://www.nacba.org/Portals/0/Docu...bt/020712 NACBA student loan news release.pdf

 

[Randolph Kinney]

The Teachers Union Gets Tough, and Isolated

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/educ...gn=Best+of+the+Week+02052012&utm_medium=email

The San Diego Education Association's leaders once met monthly with San Diego Unified's superintendent. Those regular meetings no longer happen. Union workers used to meet routinely with district staff, but in 2008 the SDEA leadership banned them from doing so.

The teachers union has walked out on joint committees with other employee unions, and it's even drifted apart from its retired members' group, which no longer meets at the SDEA offices.

Its employees and board members have been instructed not to talk to the media. Its leaders won't answer questions. They won't even answer the phone. Apart from a threatening late-night phone call from union vice president Camille Zombro — "If you want a relationship with us going forward, you won't write this story," — the union's top leaders wouldn't comment for this story.

 

[Workbox]

Athens Burning: Tens of Banks in Flames After Athens Passes Austerity Bill

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Greece has always promised ... even passed laws ... but the spending always exceeds the authorized levels and the taxes are never collected.

Lets see if Lucy pulls away the football this time before Charlie Brown can kick it.

 

[Riick]

Greeks not satisfied with a 70% reduction in the debt they contracted,
Nooooo we want 100%

We will have a tantrum until mommy gives us 100% off,
and a kiss and ice cream for dinner,
and if she doesn't we're going to pack our bags and leave.

Sometimes folks will let you slide, but, scrooge 'em once too often, and you have to Pay the Piper.
.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Let Greece default and see if the Greeks like that...Frankly, they have the upper hand if i read it right because this has massive implications to banks in Europe and despite what US banks tell us, they are deeply exposed to those European banks, if not the Greek debt directly.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/11/an-idiots-guide-to-the-greek-debt-crisis/

they would drop the euro and return to the drachma, which would, in turn, be severely devalued. Not great news for Greek tourists planning on a trip abroad anytime soon, but very good news for exports, which would become extremely cheap, like those coming out of China or other, smaller developing markets.
Outside of Greece, it would be a big mess. German banks, and maybe French too, would need massive bailouts.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

California economy to take hit from defense cuts



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/12/MNLH1N3RBO.DTL#ixzz1mH2apend

Tens of thousands of California jobs are at stake as the Pentagon rolls out plans to reduce its budget for the first time since the 1990s.

Nearly 126,000 California jobs could be affected if defense spending shrinks by $1 trillion as anticipated by the Pentagon, according to an economic analysis by the Aerospace Industries Association.

More than one in 10 federal defense dollars - nearly $57 billion - is spent in California, the second-largest beneficiary behind Virginia, according to a study by Bloomberg Government.

Military spending is key to California, where the 11 percent unemployment rate is the second highest in the nation. Nearly 237,000 defense personnel are spread among 348 military facilities, accounting for nearly $62 billion in annual tax revenue, according to the Census Bureau.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Eastwood Super Bowl Ad: Powerful, Inspirational and Dead Wrong

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-hrabe/eastwood-super-bowl-ad_b_1256647.html

Now, if you go to college, you become burdened by student loan debt. Our national student loan debt exceeds one trillion dollars. When we graduate, there aren't many stable jobs. The Economist reports that America's under-25 unemployment rate is more than 18 percent. This generation will have more job changes in our 20s than the Greatest Generation had in their lifetimes. If you buy a house, you're probably underwater. The gold watch only goes to public employees.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Why Are Record Numbers Of Young Adults Jobless And Living At Home With Mom And Dad?

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/...s-jobless-and-living-at-home-with-mom-and-dad

Number one, our education system has completely and totally failed them. In addition, college education in the United States has become a giant money making scam that leaves scores of college graduates absolutely drowning in debt. Many young adults end up moving back in with Mom and Dad because they are drowning in so much debt that there are no other options.

Second, the number of good jobs continues to decline and this is hitting younger Americans the hardest. Millions of young people enter the workforce excited about the future only to find that there are hordes of applicants for the very limited number of decent jobs that are actually available. So all of this is creating an environment where more young adults are financially dependent on their parents that ever before in modern American history.

Since the start of the recession, the percentage of young adults in America that are employed has dropped like a rock. In 2007, the employment rate for Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 was 62.4 percent. Today, it is down to 54.3 percent.

And it isn't just young people that think that the job market has gotten tougher. According to one recent survey, 82 percent of all Americans believe that it is harder for young adults to find jobs today than it was for their parents to find jobs.

In the year 2000, 8.3 percent of all American women between the ages of 25 and 34 were living at home with their parents. Today, that figure is up to 9.7 percent.

In the year 2000, 12.9 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 were living at home with their parents. Today, that figure is up to an astounding 18.6 percent.

Nearly one out of every five American men from age 25 to age 34 are living at home with Mommy and Daddy.

When you look at Americans age 18 to age 24, it is even worse. Among Americans age 18 to age 24, 50 percent of all women and 59 percent of all men still live with their parents.

When asked in a 1993 survey what age children should be financially independent from their parents, 80% of parents said children have to be self-reliant by age 22. In the current survey, only 67% of parents say children have to be financially independent by age 22—a drop of 13 percentage points.

So what does all of this mean?

It means that there are millions upon millions of angry, disillusioned and frustrated young adults out there today.

Since the year 2000, incomes for U.S. households led by someone between the ages of 25 and 34 have fallen by about 12 percent after you adjust for inflation.

The "wealth gap" between younger Americans and older Americans is also growing and recently hit a new all-time high. U.S. households led by someone 65 years of age or older are now 47 times wealthier than U.S. households led by someone 35 years of age or younger.

The percentage of young adults that have jobs is near an all-time low, the percentage of young adults living with their parents is at an all-time high, the proportion of adults in the United States that are married is at an all-time low and we have hordes of angry, frustrated young adults with plenty of time on their hands.

You don't have to be a genius to see trouble on the horizon.