Weak Jobs Report Lessens Prospects for Fed Boosting Interest Rates
The Labor Department reported the economy added a disappointing 173,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent largely because fewer Americans sought work.
Economics
Apple & Friends Pay $415M for ‘No-Poaching’ Pact
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has approved a $415 million settlement offer by Apple, Google, Adobe and Intel in a Silicon Valley class-action lawsuit alleging that 64,000 tech workers were defrauded by the tech giants conspiring in secret “no-poaching” agreements to suppress tech workers’ wages in “The Valley.”
Pregnant Yahoo! CEO Slammed for Taking Only 2 Weeks Off
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced on tumblr.com that she is pregnant with twins, but plans to approach her pregnancy and delivery by taking “limited time away” and “working throughout.” Mayer, 40, said her identical twin girls will likely be born in December. She and her husband Zachary Bogue already have a son.
Just How Overvalued are U.S. Stocks?
The average price-earnings ratio (PE) of US stocks is at 25.5, versus a 16.6 historical average. That means that the stock market is currently 51 percent overvalued. But the challenge for this simple formula is that with all-time low interest rates forcing down bond yields, we are in uncharted territory.
China’s 24M More Boys than Girls: Recipe for Revolution
China faces a crisis of at least 24 million boys that will never find a mate due to tens of millions of female infanticides during China’s 34 years of one-child “policy” to restrict population growth. With at least 10 percent of China’s young men never being able find a spouse, these “bare branches” may direct their anger at the authorities.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Will Not ‘Weigh In’ on Iran Deal
The United States Chamber of Commerce, America’s most powerful pro-business lobbying organization, has refused to engage in the battle of ideas over the Iranian nuclear deal.
Chicago Target Store Introducing Shop-While-You-Drink Service
Target’s latest motto is “expect more, pay less.” But now, in one Chicago store, Target customers just might be allowed to drink more while they are paying less with a new drink-while-you-shop service.
Markets Crushed: China Cuts Employment for 22nd Month in a Row
Asian stocks were crushed across the board at midday trading after China cut employment for the twenty-second month in a row, as the nation’s General Manufacturing PMI™index deteriorated at its fastest rate since March 2009.
San Bernardino Dumps CalPERS as Pension ‘Death Spiral’ Looms
The City of San Bernardino has voted to become the first participant to dump CalPERS after the state’s pension plan shocked participants by announcing contribution rates would rise by 61 percent over the next five years.
Exclusive: Economist Stephen Moore Campaigns for U.S. Senate Candidate Tom Del Beccaro in CA
Economist Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation is headed to California in late September to campaign for Tom Del Beccaro, a 2016 Republican candidate to replace the retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA).
How America Can Link its Currency Back to Gold Standard
Judy Shelton, Ph.D. closed out the conservative Jackson Hole Summit this past weekend by offering a practical pathway to re-restore the U.S. dollar as a gold-backed currency without economic disruption by having the Fed pledge about 7 percent of America’s gold in Fort Knox as collateral to issue gold-convertible Treasury Bonds.
China: Journalist ‘Confesses’ to Causing Panic by Reporting on Stock Market
Chinese journalist Wang Xiaolu has been arrested and has “confessed” to causing the stock market to crash in what the nation is calling its “Black Monday” last week. State media outlet Xinhua reports that nearly 200 others were also arrested for “causing panic” by “spreading rumors” in publications or on social media.
China’s Turmoil Good News for U.S. Economy and Stocks
U.S. stocks have endured a lot of turmoil but recent shocks have made apparent important facts about China and the shifting global economy long ignored by many analysts and investors. Those bode well for America and the bull market should soon resume.
Partial Shutdown Enters Third Month in Illinois
The deadlock is almost an existential disagreement between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrat leadership in the state Legislature.
Brooks: Sanders Is Where ‘The Economic Heart and Soul’ Of the Democratic Party Is
New York Times columnist David Brooks argued Democratic presidential candidate and Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is where “the economic heart and soul of the party” is for Democrats on Friday’s “PBS NewsHour.” Brooks said of Sanders, “I thought he was
Sold-Out Conservative Jackson Hole Summit Rages Against the Fed
The sold-out Jackson Hole Summit, which seeks to be a conservative counter-balance to the Kansas City Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium, kicked off with a fascinating history lesson by a Director of the Council on Foreign Relations on how the Bretton Woods Conference at the end of WW II led to the massive monetary expansion of Federal Reserve and impoverishment of America.
China Blames U.S. Federal Reserve for Market Crisis
You might think, as many investors do, that a loss of confidence in Beijing caused the Chinese market rout, but Beijing thinks you’ll find the real culprits along the banks of the Potomac.
Ortiz: NLRB Redefines Employer
Who is your employer? Most of us can answer that question fairly easily. But the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) wants to confuse this question to advance Big Labor’s agenda.
Chinese Media Puts Blackout on Reports of National Financial Meltdown
As China’s stock market meltdown continues to worry the world’s financial markets, media outlets everywhere are rife with the story. Everywhere, that is, but China itself, where the communist government there has placed a blackout on the financial story.
Stock Crash Would Create Budget Crisis for California
With the “one percent” paying more than 50 percent of state taxes, a sustained stock market crash would shrivel California’s “one-time” capital gains taxes and throw the Golden State back into a financial crisis.
Black Lives Matter Supporter Opposes Minimum Wage Hike in St. Louis
Democratic Alderman of the 21st Ward in the City of St. Louis and Black Lives Matter supporter, Antonio French, came out strong against minimum wage increases in his city in an editorial for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Food Stamp Fraud Ring Busted in Ohio
On Wednesday, a major bust was made of a multi-million dollar food stamp fraud ring based in the Ohio counties of Butler and Hamilton.
Chinese Market Closes Down Despite Rate Cuts
The Chinese market crisis has been described as a loss of investor confidence prompted by Beijing’s search for innovative new ways to control China’s economy.
China’s Stock Market Crisis Continues
Investors hope the U.S. and European markets are stabilizing after Monday morning’s free fall, but China’s stock market dropped again on Tuesday. It looks as if the parachutes are finally popping, as the AP reports the Shanghai Composite rallied from a 6.4% drop on Tuesday morning to a 4.3% loss by midday. This follows an 8.5% plunge on Monday, the worst performance in eight years.
European Shares Fall As China Concerns Still Weigh
From Reuters: LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) – European shares fell on Wednesday, tracking declines in other markets as concerns about China’s economy persisted, with bank and mining stocks lagging. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which rose 4.3 per cent on
