May 07 2010
Unemployment Going Nowhere – Stimulus Bill Still A Failure
Lots of false bravado coming out on the latest jobs report for April. Yes, 290,000 jobs (mostly part time census work) were added. But the real measure of employment, the percentage of those out of work from the total work force number, is not budging and has not moved for months. Here is the unemployment (U3) and underemployment (U6) numbers, and as can be seen they are just holding steady at a very painful level (click to enlarge – source data).
In this graph I show those on Emergency Unemployment Compensation – the last vestige of support for the chronically unemployed. Things have not really changed since last summer, and indications are they are starting to float back up again. There is no way this can be seen as a success for the once vaunted stimulus bill and that measly jobs bill congress passed (click to enlarge – source data).
As can be seen here again, the EUC rolls are stabilizing around 5.5 million people. Democrats have failed. They have been given plenty of time and opportunity to make a difference, and they have failed. And they will be rewarded this fall.
“Don’t be surprised if last week’s stock market “glitch†wasn’t a terrorist attack either. Not sure whether foreign or domestic.”
On the options markets, stuff that was way out of the money turned into fortunes within minutes – and just as quickly vanished. But someone who was waiting for it would have made a lifetime’s earnings in one day.
Some of the trades got canceled the next day – but not everyone’s. And that in itself is… let’s just say, “odd”.
Also it would be rather “odd” that a “terrorist” attack could make that many insiders that much money in such a short period of time. Remember that outfits like Goldman and JPM make most of their money not from stocks going up or stocks going down – they make their money from the action. And boy, did they get a lot of action that day!!!
None of the big boys got hurt at all that day by the elephant’s stampede – but a whole bunch of mice got crushed. Well, who cares about the mice (your average, everyday investor) anymore? Goldman and JPM run this show now. And while I of course can’t know *exactly* how it happened, let’s just stay that I don’ t buy that ridiculous cover story of some trader having “fat fingers” and keying in the wrong amount. You’re saying one bad data entry can crash the system and there are no backups to check it? Come on, pull the other one now.
How come everyone on Wall Street is pretending to buy an intensely stupid story like that and NO ONE is asking any questions about it? Reminds me of the line from Animal House, when Blutarsky proposes a ridiculous explanation for how the car got destroyed.
Flounder, crying: “Will that work??””
Otter, laughing: “Hey, it’s Gotta be better than the Truth!!!”
I would be willing to bet that both Goldman and JPM found last week’s “glitch” intensely profitable. And I’d also be willing to bet that they cashed in the rest of their chips on that 400 point rise today.
This looks like a good, old fashioned market hustle. Jay Gould would have been proud!
Thanks WWS
As I said; I don’t know anything about these rigs.
[…] fall of 2009. For us to be STILL racking up record financial woes a year later is just staggering. This goes back to my post on the April unemployment and underemployment numbers, which show there has been no relief or […]