Jim,

There is no way for the spinmeisters to spin this.

CIGA UD

Dear CIGA UD,

It is not even amazing anymore in how the media handles economic statistics. Everything is MOPEd away.

Regards,
Jim

Pending Home Sales Reconfirm The Housing Market is Crashing
Michael David White | Sep. 3, 2010, 9:30 AM

Record low levels of demand continue to haunt the U.S. housing market with July pending home sales re-confirming previous crash-level readings.

More…

Gloves About To Come Off For Gold Stocks
CIGA Eric

Individual gold stocks and gold stock indices are beginning to break out of long-term consolidations without much attention. The heavily followed Amex gold bug index sits above important resistance at 479.35. The gloves will come off quickly over price once the computers and hedgies start buying en mass after technical confirmation. The setup of "three taps and out" is nearly complete.

Amex Gold Bug Index (HUI):

More…

Jim,

CIGA Topsy (pictured below) and all of us on your helpful Facebook group would like to thank you for all the wisdom and light in times of confusing MOPE spin and “This is it!”

The pillars are set for $1650 and beyond to Alf and Armstrong’s numbers!

Regards,
CIGA "The Gordon"

Eric,

Let’s see what happens with the New Year’s potential of the largest tax increases in recent times.

How can you run an economy successfully based on political expediency? The answer is you can’t.

This is not the Chinese way.

Regards,
Jim

White House considers pre-midterm package of business tax breaks to spur hiring
CIGA Eric

Unless the tax breaks encourage investment over the long-term, anything along the lines of temporary tax holidays are nothing more than window dressing intended to sway voters.

With just two months until the November elections, the White House is seriously weighing a package of business tax breaks – potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars – to spur hiring and combat Republican charges that Democratic tax policies hurt small businesses, according to people with knowledge of the deliberations.

Source: washingtonpost.com

More…

Dear Eric,

This is more smoke and mirrors. The economy is not going to get any bull traction.

The Administration is being careful with their comments today after the recent embarrassment on jobs numbers.

Regards,
Jim

Labor Market Spin Attempts to Shape Perceptions and Expectations
CIGA Eric

Companies add 67K workers, but jobless rate rises,

Private employers hired more workers over the past three month than first thought, lifting hopes for the weak economy. But the unemployment rate rose in August for the first time in four months as more people entered the market looking for work.

As headlines attempt to shape perceptions and expectations, a quick review of the data reveals that little has changed in the labor market.

The recovery, in comparison to 2004 of the 2003 to 2008 liquidity injection, remains weak. Birth/death creation as a percentage of total jobs creation remains roughly the same percentage as 2004. Total jobs created, however, are down significantly.

Birth/Death Model (BDM) Contribution to Nonfarm Net Payrolls (NFP) Added/(Lost):

In the battle to alter expectations, the jobs report is being spun as not as bad as expected. As a counter balance to this view, I submit that the weak trend in trucking and transportation, a measure of domestic and international demand, has been unable to turn positive during the recovery. This is hardly an indication of strength.

Truckers and Warehousing Payroll And YOY Change:

Also, the jobs creation/(destruction) histogram suggests that job creation barely exceeds labor force expansion on an annual basis. After the massive job losses of the past two years, it’s going to take a lot more than effectively treading water in the labor market to bring down the 15%+ real unemployment rate.

Job Creation Histogram (JCH): Net Nonfarm Payrolls Added/(Lost) less Civilian Labor Force Added/(Lost), 12 Month Average.

Source: finance.yahoo.com

More…