“Jobless Recovery”

It seems as if more and more economic forecasters believe that the economy will progressively get better by year-end, but that employment will lag considerably.  Often the “jobless recovery” theme is either overtly mentioned or at least hinted. Can such a “jobless recovery” exist, given the current level of indebtedness at the personal, municipal, state and …

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The National Debt and Deficits

John Taylor wrote the following article “Exploding Debt Threatens America”: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/71520770-4a2c-11de-8e7e-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1 Although I don’t agree with some of his figures and reasoning, the central point is important:  This debt level is a serious problem. It also illustrates the difficulty of  ridding ourselves of this level of indebtedness.   These issues will likely get greater attention now that sovereign debt …

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misc note – ProsperityByPen.com directory

As previously stated, much of what is written on this blog will reference longer writings on my website, ProsperityByPen.com. I have created a page that lists all of the material on ProsperityByPen.com; it can be found listed on the right-hand side of this site’s home page, as well as here: https://www.economicgreenfield.com/prosperitybypencom-directory/

GM – What Could Have Been

Every so often I will mention the plight of GM as I think it has significance on many fronts. One question that came into my mind recently was “What could have been…”  In other words, if GM were to achieve results typical of (at least) a well-run, diversifying/acquisitive company since its peak (defined in an all-things considered, …

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Ireland’s Sovereign Credit Rating

I found this story to be of significance, regarding Ireland’s sovereign credit rating: http://www.cnbc.com/id/31164904 Also, as background info, this story was worth reading: http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/13/news/international/tully_ireland.fortune/index.htm In my opinion, the broader signficance is that sovereign credit ratings (and associated issues) appear to be getting more scrutiny; and this should only intensify if there is greater economic weakness. SPX …

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“Opportunity of a Lifetime”?

One phrase that I have heard mentioned a few times is that the economic and market declines of 2008-early2009 created a “Opportunity of a Lifetime” to buy stocks, businesses, and other assets. I am not sure what reasoning is used to justify the “Opportunity of a Lifetime” phrase (and no reasoning has been provided).  It would …

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Bernanke’s June 3 testimony

Ben Bernanke testified before a House committee on June 3.  Although it doesn’t appear as if he said anything new or different from his previous public statements, I found one statement to be significant.  It is bolded below: “We continue to expect overall economic activity to bottom out, and then to turn up later this …

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Ben Bernanke quote

I saw this quote in Charles Schwab’s “On Investing” magazine, Summer 2009 page 6.  It is attributed to Ben Bernanke: “Over the years, the U.S. economy has shown a remarkable ability to absorb shocks of all kinds, to recover, and to continue to grow.” I’m not trying to single out Ben Bernanke with regard to …

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Perverse Effects

I saw this story in The Wall Street Journal a few days ago, titled “The New Resume: Dumb and Dumber” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124328878436252195.html It says a lot about our current economic climate when people feel compelled to understate their credentials in order to appear more attractive for available positions. While it is unknown as to how widespread this type …

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