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26 Jan 2010 09:56

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U.S.: The ’10 federal deficit: Still huge, but at least it’s sloping downward

  • $1.4T the size of the deficit in 2009; that’s a record
  • $1.3T the estimated size of the deficit in 2010
  • $687B the size of the deficit by year 2020 source

24 Jan 2010 10:48

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U.S.: Hatin’ on the stimulus: Obama’s key legislation gets no love

  • 56% of Americans don’t want the stimulus anymore source

22 Jan 2010 16:29

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Biz: The stock market is hyperventilating due to bank regulation fears

  • 5% 3-day dip in stocks thanks to Obama’s regulation plan source

20 Jan 2010 22:09

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World: China’s growing faster than its censorship walls can go up

  • 10.7% growth in its GDP in 4Q ’09 alone source

20 Jan 2010 21:28

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Culture: Conangate: NBC is run by a bunch of unsympathetic douchebags

  • NBC execs pinned the blame for the contract dispute directly on Conan. So, let’s say you’re a late-night host treated like crap by your network. They damage your trust and you are basically forced to walk. But you want to make sure all of your employees get a severance package that doesn’t suck, because, hey, it’s the recession. Would you pose the situation like this?: “It was Conan’s decision to leave NBC that resulted in nearly 200 of his staffers being out of work.” We sure wouldn’t. In case you were wondering: NBC is run by greedy douchebags. source

08 Jan 2010 08:59

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Biz: December’s job outlook not so rosy, but not catastrophic, either

  • -85k number of jobs that were lost in December
  • 10% level of unemployment – it’s staying steady
  • +4k number of jobs ADDED in November (?!?!) source

04 Jan 2010 12:24

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Biz: Manufacturing rates are at their best since before the recession

  • 55.9 the December factory index according to the Institute for Supply Management
  • 50 the number the rate needs to be above to note a growing sector; so we’re doing good!
  • five straight up months; it’s at its best level since the heady days of April 2006 source
 

02 Jan 2010 15:57

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Biz: Big-box retail survivors eating the corpses of the deceased

  • cause A bunch of retail spaces have closed during the recession – including 8,000 stores expected in the first half of this year alone.
  • effect Chains still doing well – including Forever 21, Kohl’s and Staples – are taking advantage of cheap rents to launch new concepts. source

31 Dec 2009 11:48

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Biz: Cautious optimism: Jobless numbers slowly continuing to improve

  • 432,000 new jobless claims last week, seasonally adjusted
  • 07/19/08 the last time the number was that low, guys source

30 Dec 2009 20:52

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Biz: Who’s GMAC’s new owner? You are, American taxpayer.

  • $3.8
    billion
    the government’s added stake in the struggling GM-tied auto financing company
  • $16.3
    billion
    the government’s total stake in the company; that’s more than Chrysler, guys source