The Obamanation

[classicman]

When do the prosecutions begin?

[Lamplighter]

If you get tickets, save us a few seats...

[Lamplighter]

Two weeks ago, it was the just the Dow-Jones.
Now it's more like "We're all baaaaaccccckkk"

Wall Street Journal
Chris Dieterich and Matt Jarzemsky,
3/15/12

US Stocks Higher After Solid Domestic Economic Data

--Stocks higher after firm economic data on U.S. labor market, manufacturing activity

--S&P 500 tops 1400 for the first time since June 2008
--Dow on pace for seventh straight gain
--New applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week
--New York, Philadelphia Fed banks report accelerated manufacturing activity in March

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Stocks rose in the U.S. on Thursday as the
Standard & Poor's 500-stock index topped 1400 for the first time in nearly four years
after firm readings on the country's jobs market and manufacturing activity.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36 points, or 0.3%, to 13220, in afternoon trading.
The Dow industrials are on course for a seventh consecutive gain, the longest streak since an eight-session run ended in February.
The S&P 500 rose six points, or 0.5%, to 1402, rising above 1400 for the first time since June 2008.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 12 points, or 0.4%, to 3052.
Financial and industrial stocks advanced most on a percentage basis.

In economic data, the number of U.S. workers filing new applications
for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week.
New claims are hovering around levels last seen four years ago.

.

[classicman]

Great Unemployment rate info here...

[Lamplighter]

Classic, I am truly sorry your glass is always half empty.

I do know what unemployment is...
Once, I went for 3 1/2 years until I realized that self-employment was to be my way out.
But it took a lot of work to even become self-employed.
Getting up and staying off my butt was more than a full time job.

Outlook is overwhelmingly important, and things are looking up in the US.
That's the reason for my postings on the DJ, etc.
I won't let the nay-sayers keep pounding on Obama as if there was no bottom.
I believe we bottomed out over a year ago, and next year will be much better.

So, I am hoping you too will soon find your way through to a "full glass"

[classicman]

You've completely missed my point, Lamp. Look at the numbers.
Are they improving? Is the U-6 better now than it was?
Is it changing more than the U-3?
Look at this presidency compared to the last one.
Look at the change in U-6 from 2008 to today - do the same for the last administration.
I just though it was a neat tool to use for factual comparison.

[Lamplighter]

Classic, why are you trying to make that comparison ?

The US went through a major financial upheaval in 2008.
It happened to happen at the end of GWB's watch.
The recovery has happened to happen on Obama's watch.

It's not hard to understand that the U6 and U3 were relatively constant before 2008.
It's not hard to understand that the U6 and U3 went up after 2008.

Likewise, it's not hard to understand that the U6 and U3 takes quite a while to come down.
Maybe it's not as fast as some would want it to be..
But by the very definition of U6 and U3, it is what it is.

If your point is something else, please explain in more detail.
.

[classicman]

I wasn't looking at the rates themselves, I was looking at the percentage changes.

[Lamplighter]

???

Sorry, I'm not getting it...

[classicman]

arggghhhh - nevermind.

[Lamplighter]

OK, I'll really try once more to see what you want me to see.

When I open your link and change the years to 1994 - 2012....

I see the U6 curve drop from 12% at a relatively smooth rate,
then in 2001, it bounces up from 7% up to 10%,
then gradually falls in 2005 - 2007, and then skyrockets in 2009.
Since 2010, the U6 seems to have dropped from 17% down to 15%.

The U3 follows the same shape, but the %'s are smaller... about half.

Other than an annoying musical ad about St Patricks Day sales, what else should I be seeing ?

[classicman]

The U-6 has fallen at a greater % than the U-3.
Based upon the economic situation from 2008, I believe this is a better indicator of the unemployment rate.
I'm certainly not seeing it here, but statistically things are apparently better.

[Lamplighter]

NY Times
By JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG
Published: April 1, 2012

As Foreclosure Problems Persist, Fed Seeks More Fines

Federal regulators are poised to crack down on
eight financial firms that are not part of the recent
government settlement over home foreclosure practices
involving sloppy, inaccurate or forged documents.

Last week, a senior Federal Reserve official recommended fines for these additional firms,
raising questions about how deep foreclosure problems run through the banking industry.
<snip>

The eight firms cited by the Federal Reserve

— HSBC’s United States bank division, SunTrust Bank, MetLife, U.S. Bancorp,
PNC Financial Services, EverBank, OneWest and Goldman Sachs

— should be fined for “unsafe and unsound practices in their loan servicing and foreclosure processing,”
Suzanne G. Killian, a senior associate director of the Federal Reserve’s
Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, told lawmakers last month
in a House Oversight Committee hearing in Brooklyn.
<snip>

.

[classicman]

Still waiting on those prosecutions...

[Lamplighter]

and the glass is still half empty