The news just gets better and better. Unemployment claims are surging. Don’t believe the bullshit about the hurricane. The four week average is rising rapidly. These figures confirm that we are in recession. Another 49,000 fell of the 99 week train. That is now 1.3 million people in the last year. I’m guessing the local Social Security offices will be flooded with new SSDI applications this week.
Nothing like less jobs combined with soaring inflation. The producer price index soared by 1.7% last month. That is an annualized rate of 20%. But don’t you worry. It only went up due to food and energy. You certainly don’t eat or use gasoline. The gas station near my house posted regular unleaded at $4.06 this morning – up 12 cents in 3 days. The food price increases will be even worse over the coming months due to the drought and higher energy costs. But Ben says inflation is well contained. It’s well contained in your wallet.
I believe they call current conditions – STAGFLATION.
And at 12:30 today Ben Bernanke will throw some gasoline on the inflation fire with some QE3. It just gets better and better for the average American.
Weekly U.S. jobless claims climb 15,000 to 382,000
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Applications for U.S. jobless benefits jumped by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000 in the week ended Sept. 8,, with about half the increase related to tropical storm Isaac, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the highest level of claims since mid-July. The government said about 9,000 claims stemmed from the storm that passed through the Gulf Coast in late August. Some people could not work because of storm damage, but they did not apply for benefits right away. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected claims to rise to 370,000. Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 367,000 from an original reading of 365,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, rose by 3,250 to 375,000, also the highest level since mid-July. The four-week average reduces seasonal volatility in the weekly data and is seen as a more accurate barometer of labor-market trends. Also, Labor said continuing claims decreased by 49,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.28 million in the week ended Sept. 1. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving regular unemployment insurance. About 5.39 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended Aug. 25, down 78,465 from the prior week. Total claims are reported with a two-week lag.
U.S. producer prices increase 1.7% in August
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – U.S. wholesale prices jumped a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in August, mainly because of higher fuel prices, the Labor Department said Thursday. Excluding the volatile categories of food and energy, so-called core wholesale prices rose a much smaller 0.2%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had predicted a 1.5% increase in the overall producer price index and a 0.2% rise in core PPI. The energy index surged 6.4%, led by a 13.6% increase in gasoline and an 11.9% rise in natural gas. The wholesale cost of food, meanwhile, rose a sharp 0.9%, as the price of eggs and dairy went up. Over the past year wholesale prices have risen an unadjusted 2.0%, or 2.5% at the core level.
Administrator says:
Jobless Claims Spike Is Fourth Largest In 2012 As Producer Prices Surge By Most Since June 2009
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/13/2012 08:41 -0400
While hardly a factor in the Fed’s thinking which is due to present its announcement in 4 hours, today’s Initial claims report came at 382K, the biggest miss to expectations (370K) in 2 months, and up from last week’s naturally upward revised claims of 367K. The 15K jump is the biggest weekly spike in 2 months and 4th largest this year. Just as relevantly, as we warned months ago, those on extended claims continue to run out at a fast pace, with 41K people losing their extended benefits, down by nearly 1.8 million from a year ago, and are forced to seek disability benefits to keep the government dole running. More importantly, and just as Bernanke is doing his best to stoke inflation, producer prices soared by 1.7% in August, up from July’s 0.3%, and well above expectations of 1.2%. This was the biggest M/M spike since the 1.9% surge in June of 2009, and was driven primarily by soaring food prices, which however as everyone knows, is not really a factor in the Fed’s thinking. “On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods climbed 2.0 percent for the 12 months ended August 2012, the largest advance since a 2.8-percent increase for the 12 months ended March 2012.” Then again, who out there needs food or energy – inflation is precisely what Bernanke wants, the FOMC will welcome this news with open arms. But at least the Fed will create jobs and get people to give up on renting which is the New Normal buying, and scramble right back into the housing re-bubble.
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13th September 2012 at 8:55 am
Jimi d says:
And to top it all off – a gallon of regular gasoline has risen in my area of PA by 20 cents since last Friday (from 3.799999 to 3.99999 per gallon) !
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13th September 2012 at 9:12 am
It's me, bitches! says:
Your commentary is always hilarious, Jim! That’s why I come here.
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13th September 2012 at 9:48 am
Nonanonymous says:
It would appear that the proverbial fiscal cliff may not be a rhetoric ruse, after all.
I shudder to think what will happen if Obama is re-elected. Extend and pretend for another 4 years? I kinda doubt it. Paul still has my support, but anybody but Obama has some credence.
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13th September 2012 at 10:03 am
Hope@ZeroKelvin says:
This is all very depressing but hey! A new monkey species has been discovered in the Congo.
This is really cool. Here’s some pix. Some of these things have blue bottoms! How cool is that?
Must be some of flashers long lost relatives, hee hee.
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13th September 2012 at 10:16 am
Bob says:
Blue balls, too!
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13th September 2012 at 10:21 am
Administrator says:
Looks like a standard TBP shit throwing monkey with big balls.
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13th September 2012 at 10:22 am
Hope@ZeroKelvin says:
@Admin: That is why this is soooo cool.
Okay, I’m not going to go there about a BLUE-BALLED, hint hint, shit throwing monkey.
Geez, Smokey would have been all over this opportunity.
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13th September 2012 at 10:34 am
card802 says:
Gas in my area went from $3.70 to $4.10 on Tuesday, diesel is $4.20 up from $4.00.
I agree with the prediction of stagflation, I can’t see a hyper inflationary scenario, yet. I just don’t see wages rising with prices, and if we do, it’s all over for the dollar. Like we didn’t know that already.
The last word on the street is big Ben is not going to initiate QE3, let inflation rise, keep interest rates low, going to wait a bit to see if anything they have done so far has had a positive effect on the economy. Or not.
“Fairly soon” could be as early as Thursday, or the FOMC could decide to wait until Oct. 24 or Dec. 12, to wait for more evidence that the current Fed bond-buying operations is working.
What a bunch of fucknuts, they are out of ammo, all they have left are words.
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13th September 2012 at 11:16 am
AWD says:
Did somebody say STAGFLATION?
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13th September 2012 at 11:32 am
Administrator says:
DO YOU THINK BENNIE BUYING MORTGAGE BACKED SECURITIES FROM WALL STREET BANKS IS GOING TO BENEFIT THE 90%?
Fed Folds: Will Do Open-Ended MBS Buying, Extends Operation Twist
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/13/2012 12:33 -0400
Bernanke has acquiesced and is now the 4th branch of the status quo- and all is well in the world:
•*FED TO KEEP POLICY STIMULATIVE FOR `CONSIDERABLE TIME’
•*FED WILL ADD TO PURCHASES IF LABOR MARKET DOESN’T IMPROVE
•*FED DOES NOT SAY WHEN MBS PURCHASE PROGRAM TO END
•*FED TO BUY $40B MBS MONTHLY, CONTINUE `OPERATION TWIST’
•*FED TO BUY MBS, EXTENDS ZERO-RATE POLICY INTO 2015
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13th September 2012 at 12:58 pm
OF says:
The Carter image reminds me of a hilarious moment not long ago. There must´ve been this all-Presidents meeting and a camera was invited. When these former Presidents got together for the cam, absolutely everybody scrambled to get away from Carter at the outer end. And the Dems had an especially funny and weird way to avoid standing next to Carter. Lo and behold after a bit of really subtle and entertaining shifting and pushing Carter stood there with a approximately 20 cm gap between him and the rest of the “presidential” figures. I think it was Clinton who had climbed somebody’s back to get some distance.
Leaders. Yea. Little boys, the devil would say….
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13th September 2012 at 2:59 pm
Stucky says:
If Jimmy Carter was a penguin
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13th September 2012 at 3:16 pm
DaveL says:
“The gas station near my house posted regular unleaded at $4.06 this morning – up 12 cents in 3 days. The food price increases will be even worse over the coming months due to the drought and higher energy costs. But Ben says inflation is well contained.”
Yes, but think how many of those unemployed people will now be able to get cheaper rate mortgages.
Gas here at $3.77 today.
And that monkey picture is a disaster. It could indicate that there are two separate evolutionary lines for humans. One of them was white. This now explains Al Sharpton, Maxine Waters, and Sheila Jackson Lee..
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13th September 2012 at 7:38 pm