Is the California True Unemployment Rate at 18.47 Percent? The 10.1% Headline Number is the Highest Rate in Over a Quarter Century. 1.8 Million Workers Unemployed in one State. How Many are Partially Employed or Have Given up Looking for Work?
California is a microcosm of the entire United States. The most populous state with a GDP of $1.8 trillion, much of what happens in California does spread throughout the country. California’s employment situation is deteriorating at a breathtaking speed. The latest employment numbers were released after the bell closed on Friday, which now seems to [...]
American Consumers Cutting up that Final Credit Card: The End of a 30 Year Consumption Era and the Nervous Breakdown of the Spending Psychosis.
Imagine sitting in a messy room. Chopped plastic all around you as you sit there clasping a set of red scissors. Only one more credit card sits in the middle of the room starring back at you. Can I do it you ask? Is it possible to go forward in life with no credit cards? [...]
American International Group: AIG Founded in Shanghai China in 1919. Who are we Bailing out Here?
American International Group, AIG was founded in 1919 by Cornelius Starr who established the agency in Shanghai, China. The business took off and was very successful in Asia. Later, Starr expanded the company to Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. It is fascinating how many in the media are portraying AIG as some homegrown [...]
Stock Market Volatility is Back: Approaching a Decade of Lost Returns on Investments. The S&P 500 can fall another 42%.
The stock market is off to a horrible start for 2009. Many thought that things could not get worse than what we experienced in 2008. Yet market volatility, a sign of an unhealthy economy, is still with us and appearing again in a ferocious way. From January 4, 2008 to February 21, 2008 the S&P [...]
Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan: California and Florida you are Financially on Your Own.
I was cautious about the details in the new Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan which was announced on Wednesday. It is going to use $75 billion from the additional $350 billion in TARP funds while accessing the $200 billion in backstops to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Yet one key point, and probably a reason [...]
Suburb Cat Thousandaire: How Americans Lost a Decade of Wealth through Debt and Listening to the Banking and Housing Industry.
Not all that glitters is gold. And not everyone touting to be a financial expert should be regarded as such. Americans have lived in what could be considered a decade built on a debt façade. As many Americans strolled their neighborhoods, possibly taking the dog out for a walk, many suddenly would come across a [...]
Monthly Foreclosures and the Dreaded Road Ahead: On Path to another 3,000,000+ Foreclosures for 2009. 1 out of Every 173 Homes Received a Foreclosure Filing in California. 8,800 Foreclosure Filings a Day in the United States.
Foreclosures filings in past economic downturns were usually driven by job losses or contractions in the economy. In our current recession we had an interesting dynamic in that many foreclosures were caused by the actual mortgages given to borrowers. This of course spurred the housing bubble but more importantly, positioned a double whammy for our [...]
Can You Live on $60,000 a Year in California? Yes You Can!
California is facing some troubling times. It has one of the highest unemployment rates at 9.3% and families are trying to figure out ways to stretch their dollar as far as it can go. Now I thought in the middle of all the troubling news out there, I would offer a post that examines how [...]
Bank Charge-off Rate Highest Since 1992 for Commercial Banks: Credit Cards, Revolving Debt, and the Contraction of Credit.
Charge-off rates are now at a 17 year high since commercial banks are writing off real estate loans, consumer loans, leases, agricultural loans, and other construction loans. The FDIC is going to be bombarded with hundreds of bank failures in the upcoming years simply because their balance sheet does not have the ability to support [...]
Government Employment and Bankrupt City: Federal and State Government were Last Secure Employment Sectors. Financial and Economic Contraction.
States across the country are facing unprecedented budget shortfalls. A total of 44 states face budget shortfalls, which for all practical purposes puts the entire country in a uniform crisis. The state of California is in a state of fiscal panic. Currently the state faces a $42 billion budget deficit and the State Controller has [...]
