ECONOMY WATCH

[Henry Hawk]

Investors Cheered By Jobs Report


U.S. stocks were set to open higher on Friday after news that the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in November, easing concerns about slowing growth.





http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,235417,00.html

[Henry Hawk]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave the U.S. economy a clean bill of health without the usually gloomy caveats. Wall Street remained in the midst of a Bush rally that was pushing the Dow to new records almost daily, fattening middle-class 401(k)s and IRA pension funds in the process. The S&P 500 was trading at its highest level in six years.

Meantime, oil was falling into the $57-a-barrel range, signaling cheaper gas prices, and the federal-budget deficit was dropping sharply, without raising taxes as the Democratic presidential candidates are proposing to do if they win back the White House in 2008.

Bernanke's testimony before House and Senate committees must have been especially welcomed at the White House, as it was by the financial markets here and abroad. The economy was growing nicely, and it would continue to expand at a moderate rate this year and next, he said.

Inflation appeared to be within a tolerable range, too, a stronger signal that the Fed has no plans to raise short-term interest rates that sent a huge collective sigh of relief through the markets and the business community.

Contrary to all the worrying and hand-wringing over the budget deficit from Democrats and insecure newspaper pundits with too much time on their hands, Bernanke said he expected deficits to continue their sharp decline this year and next.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DonaldLambro/2007/02/19/success_stories_fly_under_the_radar

[IYT]

My stocks ain't doin' sh!t...of course it is President's Day.
Any good stock tips out there?

[Bo D]

Prudential Financial (PRU) has been hot for a while now.

[Bo D]

And watch PNC closely. The Feds have just approved their takeover of Mercantile Bank and opened the way to another big market share in the DC/Maryland/Virginia region.

[IYT]

I'll keep my eyes on them...thanks.

[awol]

My stocks ain't doin' sh!t...of course it is President's Day.
Any good stock tips out there?

sell 'halliburton' before the next election.

[Henry Hawk]

American Workers Are Finding Jobs And Taking Home More Pay

    * Real Wages Rose 1.7 Percent In The Past 12 Months. This means an extra $1,030 in the past 12 months for the typical family of four with two wage earners.

    * Real After-Tax Income Per Person Has Risen By 9.8 Percent – More Than $2,800 – Since The President Took Office.

    * The Economy Grew A Strong 3.5 Percent In The Fourth Quarter Of 2006. The economy grew 3.4 percent last year, up from 3.1 percent in 2005.

    * Since The First Quarter Of 2001, Productivity Had Strong Average Annual Growth Of 3.1 Percent. This is well ahead of the average productivity growth in the 1990s, 1980s, and 1970s.



Job Creation Continues - More Than 7.4 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003

[IYT]

sell 'halliburton' before the next election.

If I owned shares of Halliburton, I'd be a hypocrite, and a hypocrite I am not (or try not to be).

[American_Woman]

Taking Home More Pay



Where do I sign up??? 

[Henry Hawk]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0221/p01s03-usec.html

US deficit is shrinking

Tax revenues are rising much faster than spending, according to Treasury Department numbers released last week. The recent trend is strong enough that, were it to continue, the budget could move into surplus in barely a year, one economist calculates.

[IYT]

The Aethiest Science Monitor has a different take on the economy for some reason.

The Christian Science Monitor...that in itself makes me laugh.  Keeping science in check since 2100 BC

[Henry Hawk]

The Aethiest Science Monitor has a different take on the economy for some reason.

The Christian Science Monitor...that in itself makes me laugh.  Keeping science in check since 2100 BC

HA HA HA..

It is as reliable as NY Times... ....

Aethiest Science Monitor Keeping science in check since the big bang...

[IYT]

It is as reliable as NY Times... ....

But not as reliable as Al Gore

[Henry Hawk]

But not as reliable as Al Gore

OF COURSE NOT!!