Archive for February, 2009

The Georgia Deparment of Labor says the state’s unemployment rate hit a record high in January.

Department numbers show the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit 8.6 percent last month. That’s the highest seasonally adjusted rate recorded in Georgia since 1976.

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said the state is “sailing in uncharted economic waters” and is suffering “a severe economic downturn.”

The highest level since 1976. How soon til things turn around?

I think it’s safe to say everyone saw this coming.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) said it is cutting up to 14,000 jobs, more than previously disclosed, as it tries to reduce costs in the face of a slumping economy and higher credit losses.

The second-largest U.S. bank on Thursday said it now expects to shed as many 12,000 jobs from integrating the former Washington Mutual Inc (WAMUQ.PK), up from 9,200 announced in December. It also expects to cut up to 2,000 investment banking jobs.

You cannot gobble up an entire company without ending up with too many people on the payroll.

As I have said before, you need to pay attention to what the media is reporting.

Clothing chain Gap Inc. reported an 8.3 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit Thursday, but the results beat Wall Street’s forecasts because of the company’s focus on controlling expenses, including inventory.

The San Francisco-based retailer said it earned $243 million, or 34 cents per share, for the three months ended Jan. 31. That compared with $265 million, or 35 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Sales for the quarter fell almost 13 percent to $4.08 billion from the year-ago’s $4.67 billion.

Profit is down, not gone. Sales fell, but didn’t stop. Gap, Inc. still made a boatload of money. They still made a profit. They just didn’t make as much as they wanted to.

$60 billion in losses. I think it’s safe to say there is no business at AIG. It’s time to cut our losses. Instead, however, the President will make sure he exercises ‘fiscal responsibility’ and give them another handout. Just watch.

American International Group Inc (AIG.N) and the U.S. government are engaged in talks, as the troubled U.S. insurer faces massive losses due to writedowns on commercial real estate and other assets, according to a source and CNBC report on Monday.

AIG, once the world’s largest insurer, is expected to post a loss of nearly $60 billion on Monday, when it reports its results, CNBC reported citing unnamed sources close to the company.

We’ve never been in a position like this. American families are now responsible for more federal debt than at any other point in our history, and the market is not happy with President Obama’s economic plans.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 slumped to a 12-year low on Monday on fading confidence that the U.S. government will be able to stabilize the financial system.

All of this while President Obama convened his “fiscal responsibility” summit. I kid you not.

Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.

Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.

He said the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September marked a turning point in the functioning of the market system.

“We witnessed the collapse of the financial system,” Soros said at a Columbia University dinner. “It was placed on life support, and it’s still on life support. There’s no sign that we are anywhere near a bottom.”

Nowhere near a bottom.

Read between the lines people. Their profit dropped 60%. They still made money, just not as much.

The dismal housing market dragged down fiscal fourth-quarter profit at Lowe’s Cos. by 60%, and executives at the home-improvement chain said Friday that they saw little hope of a substantive fix from a federal effort aimed at helping struggling homeowners.

…

Lowe’s earned $162 million, or 11 cents a share, in the three months ended Jan. 30. That’s down from $408 million, or 28 cents, during the same period last year. Revenue slid 4% to $9.98 billion.

Lowes revenue slid 4% to $9.98 billion. That’s billion with a ‘b’. A 4 percent drop in PROFIT. I know things are bad, but I don’t think they are as bad as the media (and the government) want us to think they are.

Mortgage rates are down, and unemployment numbers are up. Anyone see something wrong with that economic plan yet?

The number of U.S. workers drawing unemployment aid jumped to a record high in early February, according to data on Thursday that highlighted the deterioration in the labor market as a 13-month recession deepened.

A separate report showed that a rebound in energy costs drove up prices received by U.S. producers last month, breaking a five straight month declining trend.

The number of people remaining on the benefits rolls after drawing an initial week of aid surged 170,000 to 4.99 million in the week ended Feb 7, the Labor Department said.

Interest rates on standard U.S. 30-year mortgages dropped in the latest week to levels just shy of record lows as concerns of a deepening recession boosted the appeal of fixed-rate investments, Freddie Mac said on Thursday.

The average fixed 30-year mortgage rate declined to 5.04 percent in the week ending Thursday, from 5.16 percent in the previous period, Freddie Mac said in a statement. That was close to the 4.96 percent reached in mid-January, which was the lowest rate since Freddie Mac began its survey in 1971.

Too bad no one has any money because the Ma Pelosi and her gang took it all from us.

With President Obama’s signing of the Craptastic Stimulus Bill today, I have no doubt that GM and Chrysler will get exactly what they ask for, although they should get exactly what’s coming to them instead.

General Motors Corp. said it needs as much as $16.6 billion in new U.S. loans, more than doubling the aid to date, and must get some of the cash next month to survive. GM plans 47,000 more job cuts worldwide this year.

Chrysler LLC, propped up like GM with federal assistance, said it’s seeking $5 billion more from the government and will shed 3,000 more positions.