As the 2012 Presidential campaign gains speed, Barack Obama's political epitaph begins to take shape. Among the achievements etched into his political tombstone will be the following:
US Manufacturing Growth Slowest Since Sept 2009
The pace of growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector tumbled in May, slackening more than expected to its slowest since September 2009, according to an industry report released Wednesday.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity fell to 53.5 in May from 60.4 the month before. The reading missed economists' expectations for 57.7.
A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the manufacturing sector, while a number above 50 means expansion.
New orders fell to 51.0 from 61.7 in April, the lowest since June 2009. The index for prices paid fell to 76.5 from 85.5, below expectations of 82.0.
The data echoed earlier regional reports that showed softer manufacturing growth last month.
ADP: U.S. Added Fewer Workers in May
Companies in the U.S. added fewer workers than forecast in May, a sign that job growth is struggling to gain momentum, data from a private report based on payrolls showed today.
Employment increased by 38,000 last month, the smallest increase since September, from a revised 177,000 in April, according to figures from ADP Employer Services. The median estimate in the Bloomberg News survey called for a 175,000 advance for May.
Such gains in employment are insufficient to help the world’s largest economy accelerate after a surge in food and fuel costs earlier this year. Businesses added 207,000 jobs last month after a 268,000 gain in April and the jobless rate dipped to 8.9 percent from 9 percent, economists project a Labor Department report to show in two days.
“It is a warning shot across the bow that job growth is also weakening along with the other high frequency numbers,” Eric Green, chief market economist at TD Securities Inc. in New York, said in an e-mailed note to clients. “The weakness reflects a general slowdown and turn in sentiment that set in with the sharp rise in energy prices, disruptions from Japan, and to a lesser extent risk aversion stemming from the Greek fiasco.”
George Santayana pipes in on Obamacare:
Health Secretary: funding crisis threatens the NHS
The National Health Service is facing a £20 billion-a-year funding black hole that will threaten its founding principles unless the Coalition’s controversial reforms are brought in to prevent it, the Health Secretary has warned.
In an article for The Daily Telegraph, Andrew Lansley says the core values of the NHS are under threat as never before from a “financial crisis” that will see annual health spending double to £230 billion a year without urgent reform.
While insisting he would never privatise the NHS, Mr Lansley warns that its future as a universal service, available to all and free at the point of use will be at risk “within years” if radical change is blocked.
The abyss is staring at us straight into our eyes and only politicians fail to see it.
Wall Street Baffled by Slowing Economy, Low Yields: Trader
Wall Street is having a hard time figuring out what to do now that the U.S. economy appears to be sputtering and yields are so low, Peter Yastrow, market strategist for Yastrow Origer, told CNBC.
“What we’ve got right now is almost near panic going on with money managers and people who are responsible for money,” he said. “They can not find a yield and you just don’t want to be putting your money into commodities or things that are punts that might work out or they might not depending on what happens with the economy.
“We need to find real yield and real returns on these assets. You see bad data, you see Treasurys rally, you see all bonds and all fixed-income rally and then the people who are betting against the U.S. economy start getting bearish on stocks. That’s a huge mistake.”
Housing Market Suffers Biggest Decline in 16 Months
The United States housing market has had a bad year.
Between March 2010 and March 2011, the market suffered its biggest year-over-year decline in 16 months. Property values in 20 cities fell to their lowest levels since 2003 with a 3.6 percent drop from March 2010 to March 2011, according to new figures from S&P/Case-Shiller.
The figure is slightly worse than 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected. That group expected a 3.4 perccent drop with a range of 2.8 percent to 4.9 percent.
Nationally, prices sank 5.1 percent in the first quarter from the same time in 2010 and 4.2 percent from the previous three months. It was the biggest one-quarter decrease since the first three months of 2009.
Obama has implemented failing programs which are merely prolonging the housing collapse and all that does is prolong the recovery.
Sub-prime mortgages are making a return
Depending upon your point of view, Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) recent decision on September 3, 2010, to lower new minimum credit scores and loan-to-value (LTV) ratio requirements for FHA-insured loans is either a genius financial decision to reduce a large inventory of empty homes and soon to be foreclosed homes, or it’s a monumental mistake about to bite us all in the backside by, once again, manipulating free markets to serve political agendas.
Geithner protects some derivatives from Dodd-Frank!
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — In what was characterized as a victory for business, the Treasury Department proposed on Friday that commonly used foreign exchange swaps and forwards should be exempted from rules intended to tighten oversight of other derivatives.
More Americans depend on food stamps than ever before
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — One in six Americans is receiving help from the government, just as fiscal austerity threatens to reduce some of that aid.
Soaring unemployment during The Great Recession has driven tens of millions of people to the dole. Enrollment in Medicaid and food stamp programs are at record highs, while unemployment insurance rolls remain at elevated levels. Many people depend on more than one program.
Experts: Gas Prices To Hit $5 A Gallon
SOUTHGATE, Mich. — Gas prices could rise to $5 a gallon this summer, according to financial experts.
Goldman Sachs estimates oil could reach $135 a barrel by mid-July, with the corresponding price of gasoline hitting $5 a gallon.
Obama saves Detroit courtesy of a $14 billion loss:
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration said Wednesday that the government will lose about $14 billion in taxpayer funds from the bailout of the U.S. auto industry.
A $14 billion dollar loss is a success in Obamaworld. Obama saved auto unions and made the US taxpayer eat the legacy costs.
It's like Doug Ross said:
If this Republic is to survive, we need to elect a president in 2012 who will operate using a playbook unknown to the Left:
The Constitution.
The document upon which politicians swear to the Creator to protect and uphold. And then, in the case of Barack Obama, promptly ignores.
The Constitution. Faith, family, individual liberty, private property rights.
Not big government, unchecked entitlements, mandated light bulbs and shower heads; not Europe-lite.
The Constitution. Thousands of years of human experience codified into a single document that created the greatest system of government ever seen on the face of the Earth. Not perfect, because no system is perfect, but the most perfect ever created.
We need to elect a president in 2012 that will protect all Americans, not the racial separatist groups, not the race-baiters, not the imploding welfare state addicts, not the politicians addicted to unlimited power. A president who will protect all Americans and, by logical extension, the American system of government itself.
It's 2012 or never.
Indeed.
We can't blame Barack Obama for anything because he's a democrat.
We can't blame Barack Obama for anything because he's a liberal.
We can't blame Barack Obama for anything because his golf game is much better than when he was elected.
We can't blame Barack Obama for anything because his net worth has jumped since he was elected.
There are more reasons we can't blame Barack Obama for anything because it would be racist.
Obama's 2012 election theme is
It's pretty clear what Obama means by “finish the job.”
“We’re on the verge of a great, great depression.”
The experiment is over. It's a complete failure. It's the economy, stupid, and there's more to the economy than unions, Barry. There simply aren't enough Osama Bin Ladens to offset a depression. There aren't enough other evil despots to kill.
This country cannot survive another four years of Barack Obama.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.