By Peter Morici

Friday, forecasters expect the Labor Department to report the economy shed about 110 thousand jobs in June and unemployment rose to 9.8 percent.

Economists expect the private sector created about 110,000 jobs but government employment dropped twice that amount, as many temporary census jobs disappeared.

Twelve months into recovery from such a deep recession, this is a terrible performance. The economy must add 13 million private sector jobs by the end of Read More »

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Click On The Image to Enlarge!

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By John Rubino

This week the focus shifted from Europe, where (apart from the French World Cup team) things are quiet, to the US, where state budget deadlines are forcing some tough, and occasionally bizarre, choices. Time Magazine’s cover, for instance blares “The Broken States of America”.   An excerpt:

… Almost no one — and no place — is exempt. Nearly everywhere, tax revenue plummeted as property values tanked, incomes dwindled Read More »

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By Moses Kim

“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” – Cicero

The decline of the U.S. from its perch atop the global political and economic landscape is following the familiar theme Read More »

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By Bill Bonner

The latest from the G20 meeting in Toronto. As you recall, the meeting was billed as a showdown between the Germans and the Americans…that is, between the deficit cutters and the big spenders…

That is, between the people without a hope and the people without a clue.

TORONTO (AP) – World leaders must work together to make sure the global recovery stays on track, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Saturday.

Geithner made his Read More »

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By theeconomiccollapseblog.com

Back in February 2009, the U.S. Congress passed an $862 billion “economic stimulus” bill to help the struggling American economy recover from the horrible financial crisis of 2007 and 2008.  Right now, federal agencies are spending this stimulus money at the rate of approximately 196 million dollars an hour, and they will continue to spend it in staggering amounts up until the September 30, 2010 deadline.  Unfortunately, instead of being Read More »

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I thought this image was a perfect summary of what transpired at the Summit over the weekend!

Click On The Image to Enlarge!

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By Charles Hugh Smith
www.oftwominds.com

Cities are jacking up fees and inventing new ones at a furious pace. Is this what they mean by “financial innovation”?

San Francisco is often a trend-setter. Now it’s blazing a new path to financial Hara-Kiri (seppuku to purists) via new fees to residents, employers and visitors.

S.F. weighs fees to close budget gap:

Pet owners in San Francisco who want the city to euthanize their cat or dog Read More »

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The recently approved eurozone bailout package, designed to buy more time for fiscally troubled nations such as Greece, Spain, and Portugal, is nothing short of a global Greek tragedy in the making. While one would get the impression that happy times are around the corner judging by the response of global stock markets it amounts, in fact, to nothing more than one more nail being driven into the coffin of paper fiat Read More »

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