News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, and, when it comes to unemployment, up is down, as Barack Obama’s administration continues to practice the lingo of Orwell’s Oceania.
Reader Tom C sent this link to an article by Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis showing how unemployment is much higher than what the Bureau of Labor Statistics claims. Note that Mish is citing a Gallup survey.
Men Like Mobile Ads — Sixty-nine percent of millennial men — who are defined as being those between the ages of 18 and 29 — recall seeing a mobile ad on their cell phone according to eMarketer.Com and 40 percent of them enjoy the ads.
Of millennial women, however, only 46 percent of them recall seeing such ads with a mere 12 percent liking them even just a teeny tiny bit.
Mobile ads are The Three Stooges of marketing.
AmericasMart Vs Pennsylvania Convention Center — A friend of mine had a booth at a trade show at AmericasMart in Atlanta last month. She told me she had her own people set it up. She said the convention center people would have transported her display from the loading dock to her space at $25 per pallet but she had a couple of dollies in the van so she didn’t need them.
It saved her $150.
For your laugh for the day imagine that happening in Philly.
Mortgage settlement screws people who pay on time!! Sounds crazy,right?Just follow the details here and see for yourselves.
http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-dick-bove-go-ballistic-over-the-mortgage-deal-from-hell-2012-2?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Business%20Insider%20Select&utm_campaign=BI%20Select%20Recurring%202012-02-09
Bernake contradicts Obama — Bernanke Finally Says Something That Seems to Make Sense “8.3% Unemployment Understates Labor Weakness”; Critique of Bernanke’s 2014 Pledge; Perfectly Useless Projections
Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:19 AM PST
Indeed, the Bernanke Fed and the Greenspan Fed have both proven beyond a shadow of a doubt they do not know what they are doing, where the economy is headed, or anything else of relevance in setting monetary policy.
However, on rare occasions, Bernanke can say a few snippets that seem to make complete sense. For example, Bernanke Says 8.3% Unemployment Understates Labor Weakness.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the 8.3 percent rate of unemployment in January understates weakness in the U.S. labor market.
“It is very important to look not just at the unemployment rate, which reflects only people who are actively seeking work,” Bernanke said today in response to questions at a hearing before the Senate Budget Committee in Washington. “There are also a lot of people who are either out of the labor force because they don’t think they can find work” or in part- time jobs.
Recovery Seems Limited To Texas — Reader Tom C has submitted this link describing how only 13 of the top 100 metropolitan areas have regained the jobs lost in this recession.
Four of the top five job gainers are in Texas.
22.5 Percent Unemployment Rate? — Reader Tom Flocco has submitted a link to this article claiming that the true unemployment rate in the United States is 22.5 percent rather than the official 8.3 percent.
While we don’t really buy 22.5 percent, we are more than confident that the true rate is much, much higher than 8.3 percent.
Goodby Manny, Moe and Jack.
Long-time Philadelphia institution Pep Boys has been sold to Gores Group, a private equity firm, it was announced today, Jan. 30.
The price for the auto parts giant was $15 per share, a 24 percent premium over Friday’s closing price. The enterprise value of the transaction is $1 billion.
Hat tip, Tom C.
Meehan Only Hero In ConocoPhillips Tragedy — ConocoPhillips announced billions in profits, yesterday, shortly before it was expected to layoff its workforce at its refinery in Trainer, Pa.
This has resulted in outrage, and there should be outrage. Not just an employer but a major part of our industrial infrastructure is shutting down.
Where is the attempt to save it?
ConocoPhillips spokesman Rich Johnson explained the reasoning for the closing as being “based on the level of investment required to remain competitive in the U.S. East Coast refining market that has been under severe market pressure for several years.”
He cited product imports, weakness in motor fuel demand and costly regulatory requirements as the cause of this market pressure.
Where were our politicians in demanding relief from these requirements? Congressman Pat Meehan (R-7) is the closest thing we have to a hero on this and even he could have been a lot louder.
Congressmen Bob Brady (D-1) and Chaka Fattah (D-2) have been dead silent on the issue. One of the similarly endangered Sunoco refineries is in Fattah’s district and Brady’s district includes many of refinery workers.
How about the union leaders? Notice Johnson was not blaming labor costs for the closings? Why do they continue to support politicians who want to regulate away our industry?
Our senators Pat Toomey (R) and Bob Casey (D) haven’t been particularly outspoken on providing relief for the refineries and their workers.
And of course there is President Obama. Obama didn’t even make the feeblest effort to save them and it would have been likely been all that it would have taken. Does Obama want to destroy our industry? I fear the answer to that.
So outrage is warranted but don’t direct it all at the oil company.
Feds Shut American Eagle Savings Bank — American Eagle Savings Bank, whose only branch was at 3915 Chichester Ave. in Upper Chichester, Pa., was shut by the feds Friday.
Capital Bank of Rockville, Md. has agreed to purchase its assets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
American Eagle had about $19.6 million in assets and $17.7 million in deposits as of Sept. 30.
Hat tip, Tom C.