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27 Aug 2010 11:31

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Biz: Depressing numbers: Economic growth slows to a freaking crawl

  • 5% the size of economic growth (at an annual rate) in the last three months of 2009
  • 3.7% the growth in the economy (at an annual rate) in 2010’s first quarter
  • 1.6% the growth in the most recent quarter, which is a huge sign of economic slowdown source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Aug 2010 10:18

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Biz: New jobless claims not as awful as last week, still pretty awful

  • -31,000 the decrease in new jobless claims this week, which is minor, but positive, economic news
  • +3,250 the increase in jobless claims over a four-week period, which means we’re at a nine-month high source
  • » Protip on jobless claims numbers: They’re volatile and change from week to week, meaning the number that really matters is the more stable monthly figure.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2010 10:18

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Biz: Existing home sales, meet crapper: Sales hit lowest level in 15 years

  • 27.2% decline in existing home sales in July source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2010 10:15

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Culture: John Boehner throws down gauntlet on Obama’s economic peeps

  • President Obama should ask for – and accept – the resignations of the remaining members of his economic team, starting with Secretary Geithner and Larry Summers, the head of the National Economic Council.
  • House Minority Leader John Boehner • Throwing a grenade into the whole debate on Obama’s economic policies. Great. While Obama’s probably going to ignore this request, the fact tof the matter is that he’s not exactly on steady ground because his economic policies haven’t really turned the economy around as of yet. But his people blame Bush’s economic policies. Which, you know, is totally not a stretch of the imagination. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Aug 2010 10:06

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Biz: The final stage of the Credit Card Act of 2009: The big changes

  • one The law limits the penalty fees on credit cards so that you’re not paying a $20 penalty for a $5 overage.
  • twoOther fees will disappear, too: You can’t get punished for not using your card for a while anymore.
  • threeAnd if you buy a gift card starting today, the balance will be active for a full five years after you buy it.
  • fourFinally, if a card company raises your interest rate for any reason, they have to tell you why. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Aug 2010 09:36

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Biz: New jobless claims back up above the magical 500,000 mark

  • 500,000number of jobless claims last week, the highest level since November
  • 12,000the increase in claims from the previous week source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2010 21:31

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Biz: It’s official: China’s economy is bigger than Japan’s, way behind U.S.

  • $1.28B the GDP of China’s newly 2nd-place economy in the second quarter of 2010
  • $1.22B the GDP of Japan’s economy in 2nd quarter 2010, which fell behind China for the first time
  • $14B the GDP of the U.S. economy throughout 2009, which is way out in front source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 

14 Aug 2010 13:41

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U.S.: Want to roll in the dough? Get a job with the federal government

  • $123,049 the amount federal civil servants earned on average in 2009
  • $61,051 the amount similar private workers earned on average source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2010 21:00

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U.S.: Robert Gates does the unthinkable: He proposes cutbacks

  • 10% cut in Defense Department contractors proposed source
  • 3,000 jobs could disappear thanks to the massive contractor cuts and other proposed cuts
  • $530B the size of the Defense Department’s budget, which usually increases 2-3 percent yearly
  • 1% the amount the budget will increase next year, which is why they need to make cuts
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Aug 2010 15:14

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U.S.: Want to rob somebody? Do it in lovely Colorado Springs

There’s apparently a 23 percent chance that the penny-pinching city’s cops are all busy. There’s a 100 percent chance that we just took your wallet. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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