It hasn’t been a good week for Jamie Dimon and all the banker apologists trying to stop regulation of the big banks. With the stunning loss posted by JP Morgan and its irresponsible trading operation, we have another example of why we need strong regulation preventing banks from gambling with funds insured by the government. Hopefully this helps beef up the regulations for the Volcker Rule.

Here’s more good economic news.

U.S. factory output surged in December by the most in any month in 2011, offering the most visible evidence yet that manufacturing is roaring back from the recession’s depths even as declining prices at the wholesale level shows inflation remains in check, according to two reports out Wednesday.

Stronger demand for business equipment, vehicles and energy drove the 0.9% increase in manufacturing output, the biggest monthly increase since December 2010. And a larger portion of U.S. factories were operating, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in a report on the nation’s industrial production.

Overall output of the nation’s factories, mines and utilities grew 0.4% in December although warm weather dampened demand for energy produced by utilities.

Industrial output is now less than 5% below its pre-recession peak, reached in September 2007. It has increased more than 14% since hitting a recession low in June 2009.

We’re seeing improvement in the job numbers as well, so hopefully we’re now on a positive business cycle.

The housing slump has been a killer for economic growth since the great crash of 2008. Many people think we won’t be able to get the economy going until the housing market recovers. We’ve heard some good news lately, with an unexpected jump in housing sales at the end of 2011. Some bankers like Jamie Diamond are calling the bottom in real estate.

It will be interesting to see what happens. As we work through the housing inventory, consumers are finally feeling better about the economy. This could spark another home improvement boom. One thing to look for in 2012 is the health of retailers like Home Depot. If more Americans are feeling better about the economy and more homes start selling, then we could see this drive economic growth.

There are so many resources out there for consumers to do work on their homes. In-store shopping at places like home depot are very popular, as are online options. You can do research on price and design options very easily online. You can shop for furniture and other needs, like buying picture frames here, and you can save so much time and money while making your home look beautiful.

We’ve seen the auto industry recover. Now if we can see housing and home improvement make gains as well, then we might finally be on our way to a real recovery.

The news from Chrysler and the US auto industry keeps getting better. Here are some updates:

-it plans to add 1,100 jobs at its Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit by to build a diesel version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee

-In 2011, Chrysler’s sales increased 26.2% — the most of any major automaker

-Last month, Chrysler announced plans to reopen its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant to build the 2013 SRT Viper. That plant was idled in 2010. About 150 will be employed at that plant.

What we’re seeing is further evidence that the auto bailout was a huge success. It’s contributing to the overall rebound of the US manufacturing industry.

Also, Chrysler is making better cars. Sergio Marchionne is a great CEO. He saved Fiat and now he’s doing the same with Chrysler.

When the euro was introduced just after midnight on Jan. 1, 2002, celebratory fireworks exploded above the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt. The historic bridge the Pont Neuf in Paris was lit up in European Union blue with 12 rays of light to symbolize the 12 nations circulating the euro — as people in those countries lined up at A.T.M.’s to get their hands on new bills that would be daily reminders of the project of European integration and unity.

Ten years later, the word “euro” in a headline is usually paired with the word “crisis.” Instead of hosting celebrations for the 10-year anniversary, policy makers appear to be staying as quiet as possible, as if hoping not to upset the brief calm that has come with the holiday season after European central bankers injected nearly $640 billion into the European banking system in December.

Will Europe get its act together? The recent events in Italy have to be encouraging. Let’s see if the austerity can be sustained.

U.S. housing starts surged to a 1-1/2 year high in November and permits for future construction were the highest since March 2010 as demand for rental apartments rose, offering hope for the weak housing market.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday housing starts jumped 9.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 units, the highest since April last year.

October’s starts were revised down to a 627,000-unit pace from a previously reported 628,000 unit rate.
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Building permits, a gauge of future construction, rose by 5.7 percent. The increase was spurred by more apartment permits.

New homes have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates three jobs for a year and $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Although the overall housing market remains weak, rising demand for rental apartments is boosting the construction of multifamily homes.

Falling house values and stringent lending practises by banks are pushing Americans away from homeownership.

The rate is still below the rate needed for a healthy economy, but the trend is in the right direction.

It will be interesting to see how this trend plays out, and it offer business opportunities for people who can exploit these trends. The buying vs renting debate on real estate is definitely tilted now towards renting with the tight bank lending practices.

After years of economic misery, things are starting to turn a little. While the news from Europe keeps throwing cold water on the situation, economic conditions in the United States seem to be improving, and that is fueling economic optimism.

Four years after the recession officially began in December 2007, economists, businesses and consumers alike have expressed a growing optimism about the recovery in recent weeks. The more confident, if still tempered, outlook is taking shape as the nation seems to be navigating past some big stumbling blocks — such as high gasoline prices — that have impeded growth most of this year. Some recent encouraging signs:

Vehicle sales in November rose 14% from a year ago to an annual rate of 13.6 million — their best showing since cash-for-clunker incentives drove purchases in August 2009. Economists cite, in part, the recent easing of auto shipment disruptions that followed the Japanese earthquake early this year, as well as a less diffident consumer.

“We’re getting some pent-up demand kicking in where people who have not replaced for a long, long time, particularly if they’re still working … are deciding it’s time,” says Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.

Read the entire article and see the various ways things are getting better.

The Chrysler comeback continues as it posted 3rd quarter profits.

Chrysler Group said today it made a profit of $212 million in the third quarter, well up from a loss of $84 million a year earlier.

The automaker, majority-owned by Italy’s Fiat, said its revenue for the quarter was $13.1 billion, up 19% from a year ago. It had $9.5 billion in cash at the end of the quarter, down from $10.2 billion a year earlier.

The earnings announcement comes just a day after Chrysler announced a new contract with the United Auto Workers union, last of the Detroit 3 to do so. That contract won approval of just 54.75% of UAW members, and a majority of the skilled-trades workers opposed it.

This is further evident that the Obama Administration’s auto bailout has worked. Chrysler is now a healthy company, and the auto industry is helping to drive the US economy.

When you’re mapping out your marketing strategy for your business, regardless of size you should consider a wide variety of options.

Of course, in today’s world, online advertising, mobile advertising and social media are critical components that you need to consider. If you’re not sure what a Twitter account or a Facebook page can do for your business, then you better get some help. These are the basics, and there are plenty of other options for new media promotions such as Groupon as well.

On the other hand, traditional methods have been around for a long time for a reason. Some are going away with the emergence of the web, but many old-school methods can be very effective. Think about things like mailers, coupons in newspapers and calendar printing can help you get attention when your competitors are exclusively thinking about new media. Also, online ordering has made these traditional methods much more affordable and efficient.

So consider all your options and create the best strategy for your business.

This has been a big issue in Pennsylvania, and not it’s moving to Eastern Ohio.

The boom in gas wells that turned Pittsburgh into “the new Houston,” made rich men out of poor farmers and spawned an environmental backlash has reached Ohio.

Land men, including free-wheeling shysters as well as legitimate gas and oil company employees, are swarming Ohio’s eastern counties, clogging county courthouses with their property record searches and pestering busy farmers.

Their objective: to tie up as much acreage as possible by persuading landowners to sign five-year leases granting them the right to drill for oil and gas in the rock known as Utica and Marcellus shale, buried thousands of feet below.

Geological experts have estimated that the gas-and-oil-rich shale may lie under 5 million acres of rural Ohio landscape and the deposits could contain energy equivalent to billions of barrels of oil.

The implications for Ohio’s economy are tremendous, but so are the challenges for landowners, many of them poor farmers who must first sort through the thorny offers of oil companies, and then wrestle the financial decisions of sudden wealth.

Prices keep going up for leases, so the frenzy is getting even more intense.

Many U.S. oil and gas companies are getting involved.

One of the latest hot spots for deal making is far from New York City or Silicon Valley—it’s in eastern Ohio, where energy companies are staking claims in what is being touted as North America’s next big energy field, the Utica Shale.

While the 170,000-square-mile Utica Shale sprawls beneath parts of eight states and Canada, energy companies and analysts believe the richest reserves of oil and valuable natural-gas liquids, such as propane and butane, lie in eastern Ohio.‬

In recent weeks the buzz around the area has intensified. Large producers’ moves into the area are becoming public. This month has seen big acquisitions. And stock analysts are recommending shares of small companies with Ohio acreage.

Last week, Exxon Mobil Corp. confirmed it is snapping up drilling rights in the Utica Shale. Exxon won’t say how much land it has locked up or where the property lies. But the move caught Wall Street analysts’ attention.

This industry has the potential to turbo-charge the U.S. economy, but at the same time environmentalists are concerned from both a global warming and safe drinking water point of view. Expect serious battles ahead.