…which is nearly down the drain: We notice that the ratings of Spain have been whacked again. This time down to near junk level. All of which will increase the demands that Madrid accept a bailout, which would be fine with the banker class, but dumps on the people.
The Spanish people are probably bright enough to know that things are not likely to work out any better for them than they worked out in Greece. And speaking of which, the unemployment levels there are truly up to Depression-era type numbers – over 25%.
Market: Joe Blow?
The markets are expecting Paul Ryan to do better than expected in the veep debate. Why is this? Well…
As I explained a while back, the international value of a currency is based on how much tax a country can levy. Obamacare kicking in a couple of months from now is a big increase in tax load, and that means Obama sticking around would increase the value of the dollar which would cap inflation. Not so the tax-whacking Romney ticket.
So….this morning we see that gold is up and the dollar down and the market is poised to rally. Does this mean the markets like the workout photos of Ryan? No, likely not.
It just means that the markets are predicting a surprisingly strong showing by Ryan against Biden who’s no slouch of a debater, either.
Economic Dipsticks
We have a new report on the (im) Balance of Trade out this morning.
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“Goods and Services Exports decreased to $181.3 billion in August from $183.2 billion in July (revised). Goods were $128.5 billion in August, down from $130.7 billion in July. Services were $52.8 billion in August, up from $52.5 billion in July. Imports decreased to $225.5 billion in August from $225.7 billion in July (revised). Goods were $187.8 billion in August, down from $188.5 billion in July. Services were $37.7 billion in August, up from $37.2 billion in July. For goods, the deficit was $59.3 billion in August, up from $57.8 billion in July (revised). For services, the surplus was $15.1 billion in August, down from $15.4 billion in July (revised). “
Then there was a report on weekly unemployment:
“In the week ending October 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 339,000, a decrease of 30,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 369,000. The 4-week moving average was 364,000, a decrease of 11,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 375,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending September 29, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 29 was 3,273,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,288,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,279,250, a decrease of 7,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,287,000. “
March to the Police State
Yet another bad idea may be rolled out by TSA figures this report. Putting remote control dog collars…I mean wrist bracelets on travelers.
Stirring Up War
With the dark of the moon coming this weekend, you might put at least a nickle bet on war in the Middle East between Israel and Iran going off before elections. One more reason to fear this outcome is the Russians are seriously pist about a Syrian airliner (with Russians aboard) being forced down by Turkey. Not happy times.
We’ll just name it “Flash Goggle Friday” in advance.
Nobel-ity
Lastest honoree of the $1.2 million cash dispensers is Mo Yan. Chinese fellow who writes novels. One that sort of caught my eye had the catchy title Big Breasts and Wide Hips: A Novel. Yep, gonna have to read Mo about these…
More after this…
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