Category: Economy (Page 8 of 12)

      A double-dip recession in the housing market?

      May 15, 2011 /

      Things keep getting worse in the housing market as foreclosures glut the market and depress prices. It’s so bad that some are calling it a double-dip recession in the housing market.

      If the numbers showing housing prices slumming it around their spring 2009 lows aren’t troubling enough, then the surrounding context certainly is. The federal government spent trillions of dollars lifting housing — the recession’s great instigator — out of its trough. And now that home prices have collapsed again, the feds have far fewer tools available to prop them up again.

      This does not bode well for the entire economy, but it just shows how long it’s going to take to work through all the excesses of the mortgage bubble. In Las Vegas, the foreclosures are now spreading to upscale homes as well, giving high rollers the opportunity to come in and scoop up real estate gems on the cheap.

      Fortunately, there is one silver lining, as young people now actually have hope of getting an affordable home if they have decent income. With all the bad news out there for young people in the job market, at least there’s some good news. Unfortunately, many people are paying the price for the excesses of the past decade.

      Economy, Real Estate

      US Chamber of Commerce losing patience with Republicans

      May 13, 2011 /
      U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner speaks at the Economic Club of New York May 9, 2011. Boehner, the top Republican in the U.S. Congress, on Monday laid down a tough new yardstick in talks over the nation’s debt, telling Wall Street that spending cuts must exceed any boost to the U.S. borrowing limit. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES – Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS)

      The Chamber of Commerce supported Republicans in 2010 with a ton of financial support, assuming that the GOP would be pro-business. Instead, the House Republicans and most Republican Senators are more than happy to hold the American economy hostage to their ideological demands.

      The Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Congress on Friday urging legislators to quickly raise the debt ceiling, while also warning of catastrophe should the government continue spending at its current rate.

      The Chamber, which represents business interests, helped elect many of the Republican members of Congress who are now threatening to vote against raising the debt ceiling. Republicans are demanding major cuts to government spending and long-term programs in return for their support.

      The Chamber understands the consequences of messing around with the full faith and credit of the United States, while the Tea Party crowd seems happy to let the whole system collapse just to make a point. Remember the TARP vote and how many Republicans were willing to let all the banks collapse? Nobody should be surprised.

      Economy, Finance, General Business, Markets

      GM plans huge investment in U.S. auto plants

      May 12, 2011 /

      The U.S. auto business continues its spectacular rebound from its near-death experience. Sure, there’s a long way to go, but this is excellent news and shows a commitment to invest in America.

      Growing demand for General Motors Co. cars and trucks is pushing the Detroit automaker to add thousands of jobs and spend $2 billion to upgrade plants across the country.

      GM CEO Daniel Akerson confirmed Tuesday that the company will create or preserve more than 4,000 jobs in eight states by investing heavily in 17 facilities nationwide. So far, the company has only announced millions of dollars in upgrades at plants in Toledo and Bowling Green, Ky. It is expected to release specifics about other plants during the next few months.

      While much of the planned spending hinges on winning state and local tax incentives, the company says it needs to boost production and resume hiring to meet rising consumer demand.

      The U.S. economy and job market needs a boost like this. Hopefully this will continue.

      Economy, General Business

      AutoNation expands share buyback

      May 9, 2011 /

      The domestic auto industry is doing very well, and that’s reflected in the news coming from AutoNation:

      AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN – News) announced that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $250 million of common stock under its existing share buyback program. This has increased the total authorized amount under the program to $395.9 million.

      Last year, the automotive retailer had increased the authorization amount during May and July by $250 million each. In the first quarter of 2011, the company repurchased 1.8 million shares at an aggregate price of $58.8 million, reflecting an average price of $32.60.

      During the quarter, AutoNation reported a rise in profit to $70.3 million or 46 cents per share from $58.8 million or 34 cents in the year-ago period driven by strong new and used vehicle sales. The profit exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents per share.

      This is excellent news for the economy, and hopefully we’ll see gas prices start to decrease, giving Americans more disposable income.

      Economy, General Business

      Obama discusses energy policy

      March 30, 2011 /
      U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks on his energy strategy at Georgetown University in Washington, March 30, 2011. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS)

      President Barack Obama gave a speech today on his energy strategy at Georgetown University in Washington. He addressed some of the recent controversy regarding domestic oil production, noting that oil production is at an 8-year high in the US, and that we can insist on safety with sensible regulation and still produce oil from offshore sites.

      Obama urged oil companies to make greater use of the federal leases both onshore and offshore to prop up domestic oil output. The oil industry and GOP lawmakers have been loudly complaining about delays in the permitting of offshore drilling in recent months. But an irked administration, which had pledged tougher scrutiny of drilling applications after last year’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, fired back Tuesday with an Interior Department report that revived earlier debates about whether oil companies were exploiting the leases they already have.

      Obama has made energy a priority since taking office, with the increase in automobile fuel efficiency marking perhaps his greatest impact. As part of the economic stimulus package adopted in 2009, he also won about $70 billion in grants and loan guarantees to promote energy efficiency, advanced batteries for cars and renewable energy. He has said that in addition to energy benefits those monies will create what he calls “green jobs.” But he poured a large amount of effort into winning passage of a cap-and-trade climate bill, which failed.

      Economy, Energy

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