The economy, is it good or bad. (Page 162/181)
Phranc JAN 15, 06:52 PM

quote
Originally posted by 84Bill:


Like I said, Stop harassing me.



That wasn't harassment bill. You threatened legal action and I responded with how you don't have a chance. You posted a law to which I replied how you are just as guilty if not more so for threatening me. If any thing you're harassing me. Maybe you should stop bill since you are way out of your league and over your head.
Red88FF JAN 15, 07:01 PM

quote
Originally posted by 84fiero123:

The economy has been going down from the beginning of this thread, granted it is not negative growth but it is going down. It will be negative growth this year and very shortly.

Those who have said the economy is growing, yes you are right, but the problem is that it is less and less everyday and has been all along yet those of you that see this as good don’t want to see that it is going down, down, down.




Ahh, Steve, I knew you could see it! it is growth! maybe as you say not as good as it could be but growth none the less. For now anyways, I will give you that.
I think that what it really boils down to is the ole is it half full or half empty question. Maybe no right answer but a goood look into ones thought process.

Now if you would enlighten Mr. Bill what growth is and save us another few pages of crap.
84Bill JAN 15, 07:06 PM
Next Job growth indicator will be released Feb 1.

IndyMac cutting work force: 'Painful' 24%
The mortgage lender will lay off about 2,403 employees, on top of the 1,600 who 'voluntarily' resigned in 2007, as it tries to cope with lower home loan demand.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp said Tuesday it will slash its work force by 24 percent, laying off 2,403 employees in a bid to cut costs as it tries to weather the worsening housing slump and sagging demand for home loans.

The job cuts include a significant reduction in temporary vendor staffs, mainly in India, the Pasadena-based company said.

"This action is clearly painful, but it is necessary in our drive to return IndyMac to profitability soon," Mike Perry, IndyMac's (IMB) chief executive, said in a memo outlining the layoffs to employees.

The latest round of layoffs follows a reduction of about 1,600 workers last year through voluntary resignation. The company ended 2007 with a work force of 9,938.

The lender said the job cuts were necessary because the company still faces a lack of demand for home loans on the secondary market and tighter access to capital due to the credit crunch that followed the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in August.
Wall Street to Fed: Cut rates now!

Perry noted the company has "a significant capital cushion and strong liquidity" but needs to keep costs down because it has been unable to sell its prime jumbo home loans on the secondary market and must keep them on its balance sheet
84Bill JAN 15, 07:15 PM
Inflation & Industrial production reports (indicators) due out tomorrow.

Wholesale inflation hike largest in 26 years
Labor Department says soaring energy costs, from gasoline to home heating oil, responsible for 6.3% increase last year.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wholesale inflation shot up in 2007 by the largest amount in 26 years even though falling gasoline costs allowed price pressures to moderate in December.

The Labor Department reported that wholesale inflation was up 6.3 percent for all of 2007, reflecting a huge increase for the year in various types of energy costs ranging from gasoline to home heating oil.

The year ended on a more positive note, with wholesale prices falling by 0.1 percent in December. That reflected decreasing costs at the time for gasoline and other energy products. It was a significant slowdown after prices had soared by 3.2 percent in November, which had been the biggest one-month increase in 34 years.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell by 0.4 percent in December. It was a worse-than-expected decline and increased worries that the country could topple into a recession.

The combination of rising inflation pressures and a weak economy represent a dilemma for the Federal Reserve over whether to cut rates to boost economic growth even at the risk of making inflation worse.

But last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sent a strong signal that the Fed is more worried at the moment about weak growth than inflation -- given a series of weaker-than-expected data in recent weeks.

The economy skidded to a virtual standstill in the final three months of last year, raising fears the country could fall into a recession, unable to withstand the multiple blows from a prolonged downturn in housing, a severe credit crisis and soaring energy costs.

Already, unemployment is rising. The jobless rate jumped to 5 percent in December, up from 4.7 percent in November. That was the biggest one-month surge in unemployment since October 2001 in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

[This message has been edited by 84Bill (edited 01-15-2008).]

84Bill JAN 15, 07:40 PM
Todays market response was a result of 2 things.
1. The Retail Sales Indicator.
2. Citigroups multi billion dollar writedown.


DOW, 12,501.11 -277.04 / -2.17%
NAS, 2,417.59 -60.71 / -2.45%
S&P, 1,380.95 -35.30 / -2.49%

December 28, 2006 Dow 12,500 closes at 12,500 for the first time ever.

Fears grow as consumers pull back further

New figures show that holiday retail sales were worse than many expected.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A new round of economic data released Tuesday show that holiday sales were even worse than many experts had expected - adding to fears that 2008 could be an even more challenging year for retailers.

Sales in November and December rose only 3 percent - softer than its initial forecast of a 4 percent increase, the National Retail Federation (NRF) announced.

By comparison, holiday sales in 2006 rose 4.6 percent over the previous year.

Holiday sales figures are closely watched by economists: The two months account for as much as 50 percent of retailers' annual profits and sales, and consumer spending drives two-thirds of the nation's economy.

The 3 percent increase would also be the slowest pace of growth since 2002, when holiday sales rose just 1.3 percent, according to the NRF.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said total sales fell 0.4 percent in December after gaining 1 percent in November. The drop signals that many Americans, struggling with the housing downturn, higher gas prices and tighter credit conditions, curtailed their spending.

The monthly decline - weaker than forecast - was the biggest since June, when sales fell 0.8 percent. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected retail sales to remain unchanged for the month. November sales, which were revised on Tuesday, were originally reported to have risen 1.2 percent.

Stripping out volatile auto sales, retail sales also fell a weaker-than-expected 0.4 percent versus a revised gain of 1.7 percent in November. November sales were originally reported to have increased 1.8 percent.

Economists, on average, had forecast a monthly decline of 0.1 percent - minus auto purchases.

The weak holiday sales figures are likely to fan fears about recession.

"I don't think this report alone can make the point that we're in full-blown recession," said Michael Niemira, chief economist with the International Council of Shopping Centers. "Certainly the economy is on that slippery slope. When you end the year weak and start the year weak, the concern is that we may not be able to get off that slope."

Adding to that fear, the NRF said Monday that it expects retail sales to grow 3.5 percent in 2008 - the weakest pace of growth in six years.

"Consumers will be under financial stress from high energy costs, the fallout from the housing slump, and sluggish employment and income growth," said Rosalind Wells, NRF chief economist.

"Shoppers will seek to pay down debt, spend more in line with income growth, and approach discretionary purchases with more restraint," she said.

The government report showed that the worst performers were clothing stores, which registered a 2 percent sales decline last month, and electronics sales, which fell 1.9 percent. Sales at department stores fell 0.4 percent.

Elsewhere, sales at gasoline stations fell 1.7 percent and building materials sales plunged 2.9 percent.

However, sellers of food and beverages logged a 0.7 percent increase and furniture stores also escaped the broad downturn to post a 0.6 percent sales gain last month

Citigroup's $10 billion loss is worst ever
Writedown: $18.1 billion. Dividend cut: 41%. Job cuts: In the works. Chief Executive Vikram Pandit says financial giant's performance was 'unacceptable.'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Citigroup Inc. stunned Wall Street Tuesday by reporting that it had suffered a $10 billion quarterly loss - the worst ever in its storied history.

The financial giant also announced a writedown of $18.1 billion related to soured mortgage investments and major cost-cutting initiatives that included a 41 percent cut to its dividend and plans to reduce in its payroll. At the same time, it said it was receiving a $12.5 billion infusion from investors in Kuwait, Singapore and the state of New Jersey.

Wall Street was disappointed by the news as Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) shares tumbled 7 percent in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company recorded an eye-popping net loss of $9.83 billion, or $1.99 a share, in the fourth quarter - the worst quarterly loss ever recorded in the 196-year-history of the firm and its predecessors.

It also marked the first quarterly loss since Citicorp and Travelers Group merged to form Citigroup in 1998. Only a year ago, Citigroup reported a profit of $5.13 billion, or $1.03 per share.

Citi's top line took a big hit. The company reported revenue of $7.2 billion for the quarter, down 70 percent from $23.8 billion a year earlier.

The results were much worse than forecast. Analysts had expected the company to report a loss of $1 a share on revenue of $10.64 billion, according to analysts surveyed by earnings tracker Thomson Financial.

"It's very clear that Citigroup's fourth-quarter results are unacceptable," Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit said in a conference call Tuesday morning.

Pandit, who arrived in office a little over a month ago, blamed the company's grim results on subprime exposure in the company's fixed-income business, a surge in credit costs in its U.S. consumer loan portfolio and the staggering $18.1 billion writedown on its subprime-related exposure.

In November, when Citigroup announced the departure of former CEO Charles Prince, the company warned that it could writedown as much as $11 billion. Recent reports had estimated that Citi could writedown as much as $24 billion during the quarter.

Also hit hard was the company's consumer loan portfolio, which suffered a separate $4.1 billion hit due to higher credit costs.

The news also prompted Standard & Poor's to cut its rating on Citigroup's credit Tuesday, lowering it to "AA-" from "AA".

Citigroup also warned of tough credit conditions going forward, particularly at the consumer level, which could worsen especially if the economy tips into a recession.

Citigroup's Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden noted that while the company will face tough comparisons from a year ago when it reports first and second quarter results of 2008, key segments of the company including its global wealth management and international business should continue to generate strong results.
Big changes

Citi also announced Tuesday that it would reduce its quarterly dividend to 32 cents from 54 cents a share, making it the latest financial institution to reduce its dividend payout.

While cutting the dividend hits shareholders directly, the move is expected to save the company more than $4 billion annually.

[This message has been edited by 84Bill (edited 01-15-2008).]

Uaana JAN 15, 09:57 PM
Bill did some more cut and pastes..

blah blah.. we're all screwed.
84Bill JAN 15, 10:04 PM

quote
Originally posted by Uaana:

Bill did some more cut and pastes..



Is that ALL you can say?


quote

blah blah.. we're all screwed.



I did NOT say that.
Uaana JAN 15, 10:11 PM

quote
Originally posted by 84Bill:


I did NOT say that.



Just assuming from previous posts.. don't feel like wading through another bill post on how everything sucks.
Phranc JAN 15, 10:15 PM

quote
Originally posted by Uaana:


Just assuming from previous posts.. don't feel like wading through another bill post on how everything sucks.



Well you weren't wrong. Its more doom and gloom.
Formula88 JAN 15, 10:20 PM
Bill, you've posted a lot of news stories, but we can all read the news. Is there something about the state of the economy you wish to say? Well, how about saying it in your own words?