Economic Numbers

18 Numbers That Scream That A Crippling Global Recession Has Arrived

Scream - Public DomainThe stock market has been soaring, but all of the hard economic numbers are telling us that a major global recession is here.  This is so reminiscent of what happened back in 2008.  Back then, all of the fundamentals were screaming “recession” by the middle of that year, but the equity markets didn’t respond until later.  It appears that a similar pattern is playing out right now.  The trade numbers, the manufacturing numbers, the inventory numbers and even the GDP numbers are all saying that a very significant economic slowdown is happening, but stock traders haven’t gotten the memo yet.  In fact, stocks had an absolutely great month in October.  Of course just like in 2008, stocks will eventually catch up with reality.  It is just a matter of time.  The following are 18 numbers that scream that a crippling global recession has arrived… (Read More...)

The Inflation Rate Is A Lie Too

Can we believe any of the economic numbers that the government is feeding us these days?  Most of the focus recently has been on the bizarre jobs report that the government released last Friday, but the truth is that the inflation rate is a lie too.   In fact, the way that the government calculates inflation has changed more than 20 times since 1978.   The government is constantly looking for ways that it can make inflation appear to be even lower.  According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, if inflation was measured the same way that it was back in 1990, the inflation rate would be about 5 percent right now.  If inflation was measured the same way that it was back in 1980, the inflation rate would be about 9 percent right now.  But instead, we are expected to believe that the inflation rate is hovering around 2 percent.  Well, anyone that goes to the supermarket or fills up their vehicle with gasoline knows that prices are going up a lot faster than that.  Just about everything that we buy on a regular basis is steadily becoming more expensive, and so most Americans are not buying it when government officials tell us that there is barely any inflation right now. (Read More...)

12 Signs That The Next Recession In The United States Has Already Begun

Is the U.S. economy in a recession right now?  Has the next recession in the United States already begun?  Unfortunately, there are a lot of economic numbers that are pointing in that direction.  U.S. retail sales have fallen for three months in a row, U.S. manufacturing activity is contracting and there are numerous indications that the labor market is getting weaker.  Of course there are some economists that will argue that we never even left the last recession.  For example, the percentage of working age Americans with jobs fell from above 63 percent in 2007 to under 59 percent during the last recession.  Since the end of the last recession, that number has not gotten back above 59 percent.  In fact, it has been below 59 percent for 34 months in a row.  In addition, we have continued to see poverty and government dependence steadily rise during this “economic recovery”.  Since Barack Obama became president, the number of Americans living in poverty has risen by 6 million and the number of Americans on food stamps has risen by 14 million.  So it would be really hard to argue with anyone that wants to say that the last recession never really ended.  However, the latest economic numbers indicate that things are about to get even worse for the U.S. economy, and that is not good news at all. (Read More...)

20 Signs That Europe Is Plunging Into A Full-Blown Economic Depression

An economic nightmare is descending on Europe.  With each passing month, the economic numbers across Europe get even worse.  At this point it is becoming extremely difficult for anyone to deny that Europe is plunging into a full-blown economic depression.  In fact, some parts of Europe are already there.  In Spain the overall unemployment rate is over 22 percent, and in Greece one out of every five retail establishments has already been closed down.  All over Europe, economic activity is rapidly slowing down, unemployment is skyrocketing and bad debts are unraveling.  It isn’t even going to take a default by a nation such as Greece or a collapse of the euro to push Europe into an economic depression.  All Europe has to do is to stay on the exact path that it is on right now and it will get there.  Normally, European governments would respond to an economic slowdown by increasing government spending.  But this time most of them are already drowning in debt.  Instead of increasing government spending, most governments in Europe are actually cutting back.  All over Europe, national governments are being encouraged to implement even more tax increases and even more budget cuts.  The hope is that all of this austerity will help solve the nightmarish sovereign debt crisis that Europe is facing.  But unfortunately, all of these tax increases and budget cuts are also going to involve a tremendous amount of economic pain. (Read More...)

10 Signs That Wall Street Is About To Go Into Panic Mode

Can you smell the fear?  Right now world financial markets are visibly nervous and many are worried that Wall Street is about to go into panic mode.  It really is eerie how 2011 is shaping up to be so similar to 2008.  Major Wall Street banks are laying off workers in droves, oil prices are at very high levels, pessimism is permeating the financial markets, debt ratings are being downgraded all over the place and consumer confidence is stunningly low.  Sadly, none of the fundamental things that were wrong with the financial markets back in 2008 have been fixed.  In fact, many believe that Wall Street is even more vulnerable now.  A ton of bad economic numbers have come pouring in lately and that has put investors in a really sour mood.  All it would probably take is for one really significant “trigger event” to take place for Wall Street to go into full-fledged panic mode. (Read More...)