January 2012

Case-Shiller Home Prices Decline -3.7% From a Year Ago in November 2011

The S&P Case Shiller home price index shows a -3.7% decline from a year ago over 20 metropolitan housing markets and a -3.6% decline for the top 10 housing markets from November 2010. Home prices are back to early 2003 levels. S&P on the continued falling home prices:

Sunday Morning Comics - Space Oddity Edition

Brought to you by the Republican primary -It's not that they say things no one in their right mind would believe. It's the fact people actually vote for them for it.
Cup O' Joe

 

Good Morning! Rise and Shine! Get that Cup O' Joe...
break out the O.J....hang out with the pooch...time to check out the economic funnies.

 

Yes, you too can run a factory of slave laborers, working 14 hour shifts, living in dorms with few breaks or food and get stinking rich from them. A new game has come on board called Sweatshop. It's for real, online. Click on the image below to play the Sweatshop game!

sweatshop.jpg

 

Here Come Commodities on Fire - Thank You Federal Reserve

tin man blows topQuantitative Easing rumors are now spreading like wildfire. Speculators have already grabbed one commodity, tin.

Tin climbed the most in almost four months in London as prospects of low U.S. interest rates at least until 2014 boosted speculation of increased demand for the metal used in mobile phones, plasma screens and cars.

Gold bugs are also going nuts and most commodities have jumped in prices, almost overnight.

There was a one two three punch by the Federal Reserve. First the FOMC announced uber-low interest rates until 2014.

The Committee expects to maintain a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy. In particular, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and currently anticipates that economic conditions--including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run--are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.

SOTU Reviews & Reactions

sotu 2012We've heard many a great speech from President Obama before. Last night's State of the Union was no exception. Here at The Economic Populist we say show me the money. We've heard soaring rhetoric from President Obama too many times, yet behind the words, deeds are either opposite or M.I.A.

Still, Obama gave a lot of lip service to U.S. manufacturing and jobs. To even get U.S. manufacturing on the national policy radar is a feat in and of itself. The actual SOTU transcript is on the White House site with a flurry of videos, social media and round tables to boot. Can't say this administration suffers from a lack of word generation!

That said, we all take President Obama at this point with a strong grain of salt. We've been so disappointed already.

Economic Policy Institute Economist Robert Scott noted China's currency manipulation was sorely absent from SOTU. Yet also noted the administration's hands are often tied by Congress:

Kudos to him for continuing to highlight this important issue, but he failed to mention the main cause of our manufacturing woes in the first place: currency manipulation.

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