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15 Nov 2010 10:12

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Biz: Retail sales make big leap last month, thanks to auto sales rebound

  • 1.2% the increase in retail sales in October, the largest leap in seven months, much of it due to the improving auto market of late
  • four number of consecutive months of retail improvements; this month’s jump more than doubled analyst expectations source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Nov 2010 09:56

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Biz: Unemployment stays put despite genuinely solid job growth

  • 151,000 the increase in hiring in October – mostly on the back of private sector jobs, which is really good
  • 9.6% the current unemployment rate, which didn’t improve even though jobs numbers were strong source
  • » Far better than predicted: Economists were expecting a hiring increase of around 60,000 in October, which was more than doubled. So hey, that’s a positive!
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 20:39

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Biz: Stock market really likes Federal Reserve’s stimulus plan

  • 11,434 the Dow Jones Industrial’s close today, the highest close of the entire year so far
  • 1.96% the leap the Dow made in reaction to the Federal Reserve’s $600 billion money bomb announcement source
  • » The most impressive part: This is the highest that the Dow has closed since September of 2008, just before Lehman Brothers collapsed and turned the stock market into a shell of its former self. Alright, great. Now when are these largely rehabilitated firms going to start hiring some people back so everyone else can feel the economic recovery?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Nov 2010 21:32

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Biz: The Federal Reserve shoves money into the economy’s flagging corpse

  • $600
    billion     the amount of money headed from the Federal Reserve to the U.S. government
  • $75
    billion     the amount that breaks down to between now and June of next year; will it (finally) help? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Oct 2010 10:36

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Biz: In this post, we try to find silver lining in mediocre jobless numbers

  • good New jobless claims this week are at their lowest number in about three months. Not great, but a definite improvement!
  • better Continuing jobless claims fell to their lowest level since late 2008. Hopefully that keeps up so we can stop complaining. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Oct 2010 11:04

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U.S.: Know what isn’t being talked about right now? The Afghan War

  • 3% of people think the Afghan War is the most important issue source
  • » Blindsided by the economy: In the wake of the huge economic problems the country is facing, just 23 percent of people are following the Afghan War closely, versus 43 percent of people following the economy. This despite the fact that nearly 100,000 troops are over there and the U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars there.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2010 11:12

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Music: Amoeba Records: Here’s a record store making bank despite itself

Why is this guy so happy? He runs Amoeba Records, one of the few successful record store chains in the country. His secret? He sells vinyl. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Oct 2010 10:08

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Biz: September offered more good news for job growth (sarcasm)

  • 39,000 private sector job cuts (meh) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

05 Oct 2010 20:10

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Biz: Hey, stocks had their first really good day in a long while

  • 10,944 the Dow’s close at the end of today – after a huge gain
  • 11,151 the Dow’s close on May 3, the last time it was this high source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Oct 2010 10:10

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Biz, World: In anti-deflation bid, Japan drops its interest rate to around zero

  • 0%-0.1% the interest rate in Japan
  • » Why did they do that? Well, the country has been trying to fight off deflation for a little bit, so their latest plan is to cut inflation down to a near-zero rate to help boost lending. It’s the first time they’ve had a near-zero interest rate since 2006. Hopefully things won’t get worse, though: This is kind of a move of last resort. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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