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Boon Mee · 15-04-2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raycarey

tax cuts for the uber-rich during a war that has no end in sight? insanity.

No, what's insanity is a cut & run policy certain to throw the ME into WW3.
Think your bus fare is high now?
Heh...

sabang · 15-04-2008, 07:55 PM

The price of oil would be lower if not for the ill conceived invasion of Iraq.

Even most withdrawal supporters are not advocating an immediate 'cut and run'. Providing some measure of stability on the ground, and rooting out AQ are still priorities.

But a withdrawal strategy is required, rather than an indefinite occupation with no specific stated aims as is the case now. Senator Obama has put this quite eloquently.

Milkman · 22-05-2008, 03:30 PM

I'll add comments and snippets from this article when I get back from work in a couple of hours.

Can't retire, can't find job: Older workers struggle - May. 21, 2008

Milkman · 28-05-2008, 08:45 AM

The following statistic is only an average, but nonetheless, I find this quite high: $8,568 in Credit Card debt.

Quote:

Getting squeezed by credit card companies

Card issuers use all sorts of tactics to wrestle every penny out of customers. Here's what you need to know.

By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer
May 27, 2008

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- When 53-year-old Don Cressman was struggling financially, he charged a bit more than usual on his card, but carefully watched his balance to make sure he didn't go over his limit. When he opened his credit card statement, he was shocked to find a $29 over-the-limit fee added to his bill.

"I was charged an over-limit fee when the interest charge kicked my account over my limit," said Cressman. When he called his credit card issuer to complain, they refunded the charge. "I was told that in the future I would 'just have to watch my balance,'" he recalled.

Over-the-limit fees aren't the only tactic in the credit card companies' bag of tricks. There are a slew of penalties, fees and other billing practices that can cause consumers to find themselves drowning in debt.

Americans hold $850 billion in credit card debt, and the average balance per card-holding household is $8,568, according to the Consumer Federation of America.

Link & Entire: Drowning in debt: Deceptive credit card practices - May. 27, 2008

Texpat · 28-05-2008, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabang

The price of oil would be lower if not for the ill conceived invasion of Iraq.

I suspect that's your bias talkin' there.

Got any facts to support it, or just a hunch?

Texpat · 28-05-2008, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milkman

"I was charged an over-limit fee when the interest charge kicked my account over my limit," said Cressman. When he called his credit card issuer to complain, they refunded the charge. "I was told that in the future I would 'just have to watch my balance,'" he recalled.

Serves him right. Walk on thin ice and you're going to fall through every now and then. Idiot shouldn't have a credit card to begin with.

Milkman · 28-05-2008, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texpat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milkman

"I was charged an over-limit fee when the interest charge kicked my account over my limit," said Cressman. When he called his credit card issuer to complain, they refunded the charge. "I was told that in the future I would 'just have to watch my balance,'" he recalled.

Serves him right. Walk on thin ice and you're going to fall through every now and then. Idiot shouldn't have a credit card to begin with.

I agree, Tex.

Interestingly, the article didn't point that out. As dishonest as the CC companies can be, it's the individuals who use the Credit Cards, usually on things (IMO) that they don't even need.

No sympathy from me.

Milkman · 28-05-2008, 09:22 PM

Personally, I have no sympathy for these people. They knew what they were getting into...or perhaps they didn't. Very retarded.

Quote:

Making a good living, but still feeling strapped

Consumers are feeling worse about their personal finances and prospects - far worse than government statistics about the economy would indicate.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Only a few years ago, Americans who considered themselves middle class were scrimping to pay for their kids' college education.

Now, many of them are struggling to cover far more basic needs - gas and groceries.

Take Stacy and Chuck Burris. The Pittsburgh, Pa., couple view themselves as solidly middle class. In recent months, however, they've felt anything but.

Burdened by high cost of food and fuel, they are having trouble balancing their budget even though Chuck Burris earns a "comfortable salary"as a software engineer. The parents of five children, three of whom are grown, have essentially stopped eating out and entertaining and are considering canceling the annual family vacation to Maine. They keep to a Spartan shopping list and have planted a larger garden. Instead of buying their 12-year-old daughter summer clothes, they are turning her pants into shorts by cutting off the legs and getting hand-me-downs from family.

Never before in previous recessions have they had to cut back like this.
"We are struggling to stay in the same place," said Stacy Burris, 47. "You don't mind pinching pennies to send your kids to college. You do mind pinching pennies when it's simply to buy some eggs."

Link and Entire: Making a good living, but still feeling strapped - May. 28, 2008

Norton · 28-05-2008, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milkman

You do mind pinching pennies when it's simply to buy some eggs.

Guess the chickens have come home to roost.

Texpat · 28-05-2008, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Instead of buying their 12-year-old daughter summer clothes, they are turning her pants into shorts by cutting off the legs and getting hand-me-downs from family.

HORROR! Cut-off shorts? My GOD, what's become of this world? The indignity!

These people seriously need to get a grip. Why did they have five children?

Milkman · 07-06-2008, 04:01 PM

The rise inumemployment was from 5.0 to 5.5%.

These unemployment numbers (U3) are often lower than the real unemployment rate. With rising fuel costs, inflation, and the housing and labor market slowing we *may* see some difficult periods for the next 18 months or more.

Anyone posting on here from the US, to give their observations and opinions?

Quote:

Corporate America is getting nervous

A big spike in unemployment is the latest sign that businesses are starting to feel the pinch from the weak economy. But some see hope on the horizon.

June 6, 2008: 10:42 AM EDT

About the author
Businesses, like consumers, are starting to get much more nervous about the economy.

The significant spike in the unemployment rate in May, coupled with another month of job losses, is a certain indication that businesses are feeling the need to cut costs.

What's more, two separate reports about the health of Corporate America released today provide even more somber news about business confidence.

Entire: Corporate America is getting nervous - Jun. 6, 2008

Milkman · 13-06-2008, 11:27 AM

Inflation and the interlinking of the world economy, in particular, Emerging Markets. The OP stated the US economy is the strongest in the world. True, from a GDP standpoint. China is a close #2. Who cares about GDP, when your net income is eaten up by rising prices and costs?

Quote:

Get used to high prices

The Fed has a mandate to keep inflation in check. But global forces and worries about the U.S. economy will keep prices high for the foreseeable future.

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
June 12, 2008

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- For those struggling to deal with record gasoline and soaring food prices, there's bad news and more bad news.

Economists think inflation is here to stay. And it's likely to get worse.

A weak dollar and growing economies in emerging markets have conspired to send commodity prices higher. Those factors are unlikely to change anytime soon.

"We're more open to influences from the rest of the world than we were before," said Jay Bryson, international economist with Wachovia. "That does make it more challenging to keep inflation under control."

What's more, the Federal Reserve is relatively powerless to deal with many of these pressures.

"The Fed can't control prices of commodities determined in a global market," said Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. "If it could, it would have done so already."

Link: Don't look for relief from high prices any time soon. - Jun. 12, 2008

Milkman · 18-06-2008, 08:12 PM

On another thread we read about how $10 per bushel could hit gas prices in the U.S. because there are Fed and State regs that reguire 6-10% of Ethanol to be in a gallon of U.S. gasoline. So, it's not just the food prices but also petrol prices.

Storekeeper? You around?

Quote:

US floods hit food prices

By Hal Weitzman in Pike County, Illinois, and Javier Blas in London

Last updated: June 17 2008

Consumers were warned to expect even sharper increases in global food prices after US officials said that some of the country’s best farmland was facing its worst flooding for 15 years.

Agriculture officials and traders said the damage could push up worldwide corn and soyabean prices, which have spiralled in recent days as floods have swamped crops in parts of Iowa, the US’s biggest corn-producing state.

The warning comes at a time when high food prices are already sparking protests across the developing world.

Corn futures in Chicago this week rose to record highs of more than $8 a bushel on fears that up to 5m acres of the crop could be lost, while soyabean prices hit a record of $15.93 a bushel.

Tom Jennings, acting director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, said: “The price of corn and the price of beans could rise more. If we lose a lot of corn the prices will continue to go up.”

The increase in the cost of corn and soyabeans – the two main feed crops for farm animals such as cows and chickens – increased the price of live cattle yesterday for the second day in a row, to the highest level in 22 years.

Link: FT.com / In depth - US floods hit food prices

bkkandrew · 18-06-2008, 08:25 PM

This year's harvest of the basic commodity crops worldwide is going to be one of the most crucial events of recent years.

Milkman · 18-06-2008, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkkandrew

This year's harvest of the basic commodity crops worldwide is going to be one of the most crucial events of recent years.

I just and article in the "Telegraph." I think it's worthy of post but I don't know which thread to put it in yet. The article is about banking and a potential credit squeeze that could cause a crash. Some of your previous article are about this, bkkandrew. The prediction or advise is from RBS, the Royal Bank of Scotland.

It's not about the US, but it's about the world, which of course is connected to the U.S.

Link: RBS issues global stock and credit crash alert - Telegraph

Norton · 18-06-2008, 08:39 PM

^With all the recent natural disasters I'm afraid crop production is going to extremely bad. Expect food prices to really get out of hand by year end.

bkkandrew · 18-06-2008, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milkman

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkkandrew

This year's harvest of the basic commodity crops worldwide is going to be one of the most crucial events of recent years.

I just and article in the "Telegraph." I think it's worthy of post but I don't know which thread to put it in yet. The article is about banking and a potential credit squeeze that could cause a crash. Some of your previous article are about this, bkkandrew. The prediction or advise is from RBS, the Royal Bank of Scotland.

It's not about the US, but it's about the world, which of course is connected to the U.S.

Link: RBS issues global stock and credit crash alert - Telegraph

I have already posted it here:

(The US Housing market is in deep shit)http://teakdoor.com/us-domestic-issues/27859-the-us-housing-market-deep-shit-5.html#post661497

Texpat · 19-06-2008, 11:01 AM

By Neil Irwin
Washington Post
June 18, 2008

Ask Americans how the economy is doing, and their answer is stark: It is not just bad, it is run-for-the-hills terrible. Consumer confidence is at its lowest level in almost 30 years. Only 12 percent of Americans think the economy is in good shape. On the Internet, comparisons to the Great Depression are widespread.

But the reality is different. According to most broad measures of how the economy is doing, it's not all that grim.

Soft? You betcha. In recession? Quite possibly. And a crisis in the financial markets has rattled nerves for months now. But so far, the economy is holding up better than it did during the last two recessions in 1990 and 2001. Employers haven't shed as many jobs, the unemployment rate is still relatively low, and gross domestic product has kept rising. Things are nowhere near as bad as they were in the Great Depression, or even during the severe recession of 1982-83.

The last time consumers were this miserable, in May 1980, the jobless rate was 7.5 percent and inflation was 14.4 percent. Now those numbers are 5.5 percent and 4.2 percent respectively.

This paradox has created a unique challenge for those guiding the economy, who worry that Americans' pessimistic views will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Two-thirds of the economy is consumer spending. So if people's negative outlook leads them to cu

15-04-2008, 07:55 PM	#602 (permalink)
sabang Watching the Wheels Last Online: Yesterday 08:13 PM Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: east of Pattaya Posts: 8,301	The price of oil would be lower if not for the ill conceived invasion of Iraq. Even most withdrawal supporters are not advocating an immediate 'cut and run'. Providing some measure of stability on the ground, and rooting out AQ are still priorities. But a withdrawal strategy is required, rather than an indefinite occupation with no specific stated aims as is the case now. Senator Obama has put this quite eloquently. __________________ To err is human. To blame someone else is politics.

22-05-2008, 03:30 PM	#603 (permalink)
Milkman Gone Off Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: shelf Posts: 9,390	I'll add comments and snippets from this article when I get back from work in a couple of hours. Can't retire, can't find job: Older workers struggle - May. 21, 2008

18-06-2008, 08:25 PM	#614 (permalink)
bkkandrew Clingin' on... Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: BKK Posts: 4,003	This year's harvest of the basic commodity crops worldwide is going to be one of the most crucial events of recent years.

18-06-2008, 08:39 PM	#616 (permalink)
Norton Born Again Pagan Last Online: Yesterday 04:33 PM Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Roiet Posts: 7,039	^With all the recent natural disasters I'm afraid crop production is going to extremely bad. Expect food prices to really get out of hand by year end.