Not-So-Happy Leap Day: Economic News Goes From Bad To Worse

As if investors didn't have enough to worry about, Friday's batch of economic numbers shows more signs of recession as well as its evil twin--inflation.

First, the government reported that U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in January, but the gain was eaten up by swiftly rising prices.

Then, a Chicago-based business group said U.S. Midwest business activity contracted sharply in February, showing that even areas of the country least affected by the boom-bust housing cycle are feeling ripples from the crisis.

On top of that, U.S. consumer sentiment dropped to a 16-year low in February, hitting levels that usually sound the alarm bells of recession, on worries about declining incomes and rising unemployment, a survey showed.

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Need Further Proof? Look no further than today's headlines:

- Dow slips over 300 points
- Oil hits $103 a barrel
- Consumer spending stalls
- AIG, the country's largest insurer, posts a $5.3 billion loss

Comments

[Citizenofreality]

All it took was one day? The President told us everything was all right just yesterday, I'm shocked ! Now please excuse me while I get back to my 29 cent box of macaroni and cheese. A free day, a gourmet meal and no need to balance my checking account, cause there's nothing in it. WHOO, the livin' is easy.

[ErnestineBass]

That's not just mac and cheese... THAT'S A BUFFET!

(in a manner of speaking)

heh heh

[mmckinl]

so where's the mac and cheese ?

if you bring it , you must share.

[incontempt]

Welcome to the middle class.

[gcallaghan]

an ENTIRE box of macaroni and cheese in ONE sitting? That's UPPER middle class these days.

[Hoelder]

Again, this has been a long way coming. There is the misconception that the rich drive the economy, o the middle class drives it. Why did the rich det raises and record income? At least now they blame the fact that we won't shop anymore, making them richer. Enough is enough. Lets just add a food crises and enough people lose their homes (which weren't theirs in the first place and maybe we will look onto who owns us. I think when the US will receive food aid from China and fuel aid from Moscow, reality will kick us into the private place and we can see the real Cheney and his buddies sucking up the last drop of our blood.

[biwee]

All this economic turmoil (housing disaster, banks in BIG trouble, inflation up and up, high gas prices,
bear stock market) means that McCain's chance of being elected is a big fat ZERO percent!!!

[ErnestineBass]

Waddaya...some kind of an optimist? LOL!!

[incontempt]

LOL

[PacificGatePost]

This is no time to panic.

- http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/02/rebounding-us-economy.html

Shouting from roof tops or from the internet, let's generate the energy to get on with turning this ship around now. Congress will listen to what will get it re-elected.

[mmckinl]

LOL , sorry mate, Congress is clueless, the corporations have us just where they want us so nothing is going to change. Prepare for the coming depression.

[PacificGatePost]

The total combined debt is $45 trillion+ and increasing.

Perhaps then, the spending behavior will reverse-trend at ALL levels of this country.

Our grandchildren aren't smiling.

[PacificGatePost]

Let's get this ship back under control. This time, from the bottom up. The top isn't paying attention to the big picture ....

http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/02/america-for-sale.html

- and -

http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/02/rebounding-us-economy.html

There are solutions, however there's also a need for voices to be heard - then Congress will do what it must to get re-elected.

[Dandy12]

Maybe Ben & Bush can work some more "Magic"! Talk about VooDoo economics, this is moke and mirrors or a complete illusion! Just wait for the looming banking crisis!

[bushdoescrack]

bin laden invested in oil futures.

[mrcontinental]

This is all intentional at this point. There are no coincidences at this level. Just like the push for ethanol just HAPPENS to coincide with the first wheat shortages in a generation.

They are coming for us pure and simply, hoping we'll be begging for world government when this all shakes out ten years from now after a decade of suffer unlike any this country has ever witness. And keep talking about the tinfoil hats if it makes you feel better.

[localman]

Exactamundo.

[ErnestineBass]

Mine is lovely vintage Bacofoil...

[mrcontinental]

Goodness! That is vintage.

[FreedomCorpse]

indeed mr continental. the globalists want the US people to suffer miserably for the globalist agenda and these 'representatives' have given the US to them so long as the globalists won't take them out behind the chemical shed aka V for Vendetta

[mmckinl]

All our so called leaders are lying through their teeth and the public knows it .

The confidence game these criminals have been playing is up ! The curtain will be pulled back and the real state of the economy, that many of us here have been describing, will frighten America into PTSD .

The American financial system will have to be built from the ground up to regain confidence. Meanwhile the world is at Peak Oil which will slowly choke the world's economy into submission.

[dadw5boys]

KEEP POOR PEOPLE UNINFORMED WHILE THE RICH CASH OUT RIGHT!

[dadw5boys]

PUT ALL UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE IN JAIL THAT WILL HELP THE ECOMONY RIGHT!

[GreedyOldPsychopaths]

But Ben said, "I don't anticipate stagflation".

And Bush said we are not heading into recession.

Who can you believe? This PR is BS.

[HmblDog]

I put my trust in Kudlow.
I'll never forget the day back in the summer of 2002 when I turned on Kudlow and Cramer expecting to hear some news about the Enron meltdown and all they could talk about was how we should invade Iraq. It seemed like such a no brainer. We destroy an evil dictator and pay for the invasion with Iraqi oil.
That's when I realized these guys laugh at market turmoil. They are fearless in the face of adversity.
If Kudlow should ever become concerned I think we'll know that things are maybe slipping. Until then as Roy Rogers would say it's Happy Trails.

[mmckinl]

Cow cud is a shill for Wall Street pure and simple ... Cramer has been proven wrong so many times you could have lost several fortunes following his advise.

CNBC is nothing but salesmen and happytalk.

[GreedyOldPsychopaths]

LOL! Love the sarcasm.

[MrJoyboy]

Kudlow will fight the enemies of Israel to the last working class American soldier.

[WIpatriot]

This summer, Wall Street will look back on today and remember it as one of the good ol' days....

[JoeBlough]

It really doesn't matter if the American Economy collapses as long as America has the money to re-build the Iraqi Economy. It is better to be poor and safe and secure by spending all our money on Iraq. We spend there so we don't have to spend here. By building Iraq better than America, we will all sleep better.

[HmblDog]

That's a given. If you think about it though there's money to be made in the segments of the economy that go to transporting money to Iraq. It has to be bundled and shrink wrapped on pallets. I suspect they are shipping it by military aircraft but someone's got to supply the fuel for the plane. So pallets, shrink wrap and jet fuel just off the top of my head. The personal distributing the money are probably contractors but they wouild be taking their paychecks from businesses that have a world wide reputation for getting the job done. Halliburton perhaps.

[gcallaghan]

Pretty soon, those pallets of cash won't be worth the cost of the fuel used to transport them, thoiugh.

[Dandy12]

This is part of Bush's "bringing democracy to these people". Our society and infrastructure can go to hell as long as we rebuild Iraq.

[FreedomCorpse]

for what bushco has dumped into Iraq to steal those poor people's oil from under their feet we could have bought at least 20% of the reserves there, instead bushco hands the 'spoils' of war to private corporations like exxon, bp, and so on. What a great deal! Now the oil companies can sell the oil to China who has our jobs and manufacturing so we buy inflated cost products that used to built in sometown, USA

[TNFarmer]

Considering how well Bush and his folks are doing rebuilding Iraq, its very difficult to say the hundreds of $billions$ - to over a $trillion$ - poured into that poor nation is any great achievement for them. An embassy we'll never see occupied. Tons of money disappeared. Paying locals as private militias. Paying Blackwater and others as mercenaries. The list goes on and on...pretty darned depressing.

[bushdoescrack]

destroy iraq, rebuild iraq, anyone see the irony here?