Changes to federal foreclosure program announced

One man cited the announcement as wonderful news. As the debt pile grows and U.S. dollar continues to devalue, it is indeed strange to see how easily money spigot programs are embraced. How much money must be committed before the minimal gains in perception are swamped by the reality of market forces? At some point, the economic children within us all must grow up. The transition will be made as bond market will soon become the strict teacher that demands attention.

The changes, effective immediately, will allow cities, counties and states to buy properties in mortgage default and uninhabitable homes with lingering code violations through the $4 billion Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

The program was started in the midst of the nation's foreclosure crisis, but a year later about a third of more than 300 local governments that got grants have barely made a dent in them, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Source: finance.yahoo.com

One of the better sources of decision-making data out there.

You really want the truth?
Consider www.shawdowstats.com

- March Unemployment Rose to 9.8% Net of Census Hiring
- Official Reporting: BLS U-3 Held at 9.7%, U-6 Rose to 16.9%,
SGS Rose to 21.7%
- March Employment Gain of 162,000 Was 114,000 Net of Temporary Census Hiring
- Economic-Deterioration Signal Intensifies


"No. 289: March Employment and Unemployment, Liquidity Crisis"
Source: shadowstats.com

Saudi central bank to head new Gulf monetary union

The mirror image dollar dress up will not stop for those that have concluded the fundamental need for dollar diversification.

The head of Saudi Arabia's central bank on Tuesday was named the first chairman of a council that will serve as the precursor to a regional central bank in the latest step toward a unified Gulf currency and greater economic integration.

No it will not. Soon the full purchasing power of the dollar will be restricted to domestic use only for an unsuspecting public.

Source: businessweek.com

California's last auto plant shuts its doors

No Base - No Toyota - Less USA Jobs. But in this case unemployment is not a decisional factor

The last car has rolled off the production lines at California's sole auto plant. Workers are trickling out of the New United Motor Manufacturing plant in Fremont as they complete their tasks and the plant readies to shut down.

Nearby, job centers have been set up to help the newly unemployed figure out benefits, retraining and other options.

Source: breitbart.com

Hoarding, Penny-Pinching And Buying Gold

Bunch of poll results about economic conditions. One poll result caught me eye...

6% purchased gold (to protect themselves)

Wow, a whole 6%. Store that in the memory banks when some waiving "expert" suggests gold has become the ultimate bubble. When the number goes north of 50%, you'll know at least a few of the "experts" are not planting disinformation.

Source: forbes.com

US Government Issues $333 Billion Net In Marketable Debt In March, Second Biggest Ever

Few realize the extend of debt issuance yet to come. The dollar and bond market are becoming increasingly sensitive to the private to public transfer (public debt issuance to recapitalize the private sector). In the end, the sovereign debt and currency markets pay the price for the preservation of the system.

In March, the US government issued a massive amount of debt: $332.8 billion - the biggest amount ever since the all time record of $545 billion raised (most of it purchased by the Fed) during the apex of the financial crisis in October 2008. The US Treasury had $12.717 trillion in debt subject to limit at the end of March, compared to just $12.384 trillion in the beginning of the month. The private-to-public debt transfer is going as planned, still in the full absence of the shadow economy.

Source: zerohedge.com

March payrolls rise 162,000 on private hiring

U.S. non-farm payrolls, a key measure of the economy's health, rose in March for only the third time since recession struck in late 2007 as the private sector stepped up hiring at the fastest pace in almost 3 years.

Employers added 162,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, leaving the unemployment rate steady at 9.7 percent for the third straight month. The payrolls increase was the largest since March 2007, and also reflected temporary hiring for the census.

The economic cheerleaders are shaking their pom-poms hard over this number. The liquidity driven stock market supports nearly any positive economic outlook and makes cheerleading easy. A rising stock market equals an economic recovery comes straight from the how to manage a depression handbook.

A look inside the numbers, something a few of us still like to do, reveals that the labor forces is expanding faster than job creation. The differential rate of expansion is reflected by the jobs creation histogram (JCH). JCH > 0 indicates marginal job creation. That is, jobs are being created faster (or contracting more slowly) than the labor force is expanding (or contracting). When JCH > 0, it reflects a positive environment for job seekers. JCH < 0, however, indicates marginal job destruction. That is, the labor force expanding (or contracting more slowly) faster than job creation (or destruction). When JCH < 0, it reflect a negative or tough environment for job seekers.

The huge downward spike in the JCH in 2009 illustrates the extent of the damage sustained within the labor market during the last hemorrhage phase. Clearly, the damage was much greater than the 2000-2003 phase. While the employment picture has improved from the 2009 lows, it still remains far from a picture of health. Labor force continues to expand (or contract more slowly) than job creation (or destruction). As a result, the JCH remains below zero. This recovery, even more dramatic than the previous, can only be classified as a jobless recovery and tough environment for job seekers.

Job Creation Histogram (JCH): Net Nonfarm Payrolls Added/(Lost) less Civilian Labor Force Added/(Lost), 12 Month Average.


Source: finance.yahoo.com