Saturday, August 2, 2008

Headlines at a glance

As seen on Saturday, August 2, 2008:

From the WSJ:

GM Swings to Loss
Auto Sales Continue to Slide
Jobless Rate Hits Four-Year High

From Kiplinger personal finance:

Growing economy continues to struggle


And at MarketWatch:

U.S. Stocks Look to Fed for Direction

Quoting from the latter:
As the first anniversary of the crisis arrives this coming week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 14%, U.S. economic growth has more than halved, financial institutions have suffered $350 billion in write-downs and fired chief executives and thousands of workers, while house prices have slumped as much as 40% in some areas.
And the solutions?

Experts are looking to The Fed, the institution responsible for the crisis.

Or they're giving serious consideration to Obama's planned attack on the oil companies:
Sen. Barack Obama has proposed a revised, speeded-up version of his $50 billion economic stimulus plan, saying a tax on oil companies’ profits should be levied to fund rebates of up to $1,000 for families.
Or they're looking at Bush, who's about to sign an emergency relief bill for homeowners:
One of the highlights of the housing bill waiting to be signed by President Bush is a tax credit of up to $7,500 for first-time home buyers. But read a little closer and it doesn’t seem quite as appealing for buyers: that credit has to be paid back.
Isn't it amazing how basic economics seems forever beyond the grasp of the world's best-educated people?

No comments:

The State Unmasked

“So things aren't quite adding up the way they used to, huh? Some of your myths are a little shaky these days.” “My myths ? They're...