Money and Financial Lifestyle

From 1997 to 2006 the housing wealth effect drove the stock market, until the real estate bubble burst late in 2005 and the sub-prime mortgage meltdown took the stock market down two years later, in October, 2007.

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NAHB Housing Market Index and the S&P 500 Index

The Obama Agenda and the Enthusiasm Gap August 3, 2010 A stimulus too small to significantly reduce unemployment, a TARP that didn’t trickle down to Main Street, financial reform that doesn’t fundamentally restructure Wall Street, and health-care reforms that don’t promise to bring down health-care costs have all created an enthusiasm gap. They’ve fired up the right, demoralized the left, and generated unease among the general population.

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The Obama Agenda and the Enthusiasm Gap

Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index July 31, 2010 The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for July is 67.8, down significantly from the June reading of 76.0. The survey’s chief economist, Richard Curtin, summarizes: Scarce jobs and stagnating incomes have been the top concerns of consumers for some time. What changed in July was their recognition that the anticipated slowdown in the economy will keep jobs scarce for some time, while their uncertainties about future prospects were increased by the policies of the Obama administration

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Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index… down for July, 2010

Bank Failures #107 & 108: Washington and Oregon by CalculatedRisk on 7/30/2010 PM The Cowlitz Bank, Longview, Washington LibertyBank, Eugene, Oregon Blogger’s comment: Friday is FDIC bank takeover day. Banks are closed on Friday, and open on Monday with a new name and new management. Only five banks were taken over by the FDIC today, including LibertyBank in Eugene, Oregon

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Bank Failures #107 & 108: Washington and Oregon

Corporate Profits Are Up Because of the Unemployment Crisis by Derek Thompson, staff editor at TheAtlantic.com Blogger’s comment: About twenty years ago, China and corporate America made an unspoken deal… China would take the jobs and corporate America would take the profits.

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Corporate Profits Are Up Because of the Unemployment Crisis

Consumers, Wall Street disagree on economy Confidence waning in households even as earnings help boost stock market By Anne D’Innocenzio, Associated Press updated 7/27/2010 6:54:08 PM ET WASHINGTON — The disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street is growing. Americans’ confidence in the economy faded further in July, according to a monthly survey released Tuesday, amid job worries and skimpy wage growth

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Consumers, Wall Street disagree on economy, 7/27/2010

Economists see tepid recovery deep into 2011 Survey: Consumers will be tightfisted, unemployment will stay high By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press updated 7/30/2010 1:37:09 PM ET WASHINGTON — The U.S. economic recovery will remain slow deep into next year, held back by shoppers reluctant to spend and employers hesitant to hire, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists.

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Economists see tepid recovery deep into 2011

Betting on a Bubble, Bracing for a Fall John P. Hussman, Ph.D

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Betting on a Bubble, Bracing for a Fall, John P. Hussman, Ph.D. July 26, 2010

Many fear job loss, but have no savings for it 45 percent could not cover expenses for more than a month without a job By Allison Linn Senior writer msnbc.com updated 7/26/2010 4:29:11 PM ET Despite being warned for years to save, almost half of Americans face the worst-case scenario if they are laid off: out of work and out of money. Forty-five percent of Americans surveyed by insurer MetLife said they could not pay their bills for more than a month if they lost a job, and 65 percent said they couldn’t cover their expenses for three months.

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Many fear job loss, but have no savings for it

Botox Economics: Part 1 Botox Economics: Part 2 By Satyajit Das, a risk consultant and author of Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and Unknowns in the Dazzling World of Derivatives – Revised Edition (2010, FT-Prentice Hall). Botox is commonly used to improve a person’s appearance by removing facial lines and other signs of aging. The effect is temporary and can have significant side effects

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Botox Economics: by Satyajit Das