It’s even easier to write off China. But Keith Fitzgerald says China’s stimulus package, unlike America’s, is large enough to work. Expect an uptick in Chinese demand in late 2009 and an acceleration in 2010.
The record drop in consumer spending in October is clear evidence of a profound weakening of the US economy. Even President Bush think thinks the situation is bad. At the G20 summit over the weekend, he said it was conceivable that the US “could go into a depression greater than the Great Depression“.
$5 trillion. That’s how much it has cost so far to bailout out corporate America from its own stupidity, greed and corruption (yes, Fannie and Freddie, that means you). Or to put it another way, the US government in its eternal wisdom has now put the American taxpayer on the hook for $5,000,000,000,000.
China’s stimulus package proves that the global infrastructure boom is not dead, says Justice Litle. And that’s big news for base metals like copper. These are essential for construction, and will soar as the world attempts to rebuild its economy. That makes strong base metal producers a bargain now.
Remember the hullabaloo over the $700 billion bailout? The bill that would buy “troubled assets” from banks (hence the name). Well, guess what? TARP never did buy troubled assets…and probably never will. Instead, it will continue to inject capital into companies in return for equity.
Short-term aid, long-term assistance. According to the IHT, this sums up Barack Obama’s attitude toward the government’s role in the US auto industry. Obama is pushing President Bush to use some of the $700 billion bailout package to prop up GM (NYSE:GM).
Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital Inc. and disciple of Austrian School economics, says “a major, major crisis is coming,” thanks to the government’s attempts to ‘fix’ the economy with giant bailouts.
In fact, Schiff, a well-known dollar bear, says the result of the government bailout packages and an Obama administration will be the total destruction of the dollar.
Watch it below.
– “A recession, perhaps the deepest one in decades, may be unavoidable,” reports the Gray Lady. One of the biggest problems facing the US is more pain in the housing market. Home mortgage rates have risen in spite of the government’s bailout splurge.
– European and Asian stock markets mostly dropped today after a two-day rally. Recession is still very much on the mind of Mr. Market, it seems.
– In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index nearly 5% to close at 15,998.30. Stocks in Australia, South Korea, China, India and Singapore also sank. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, however, ending up just over 1.1% at 9,547.47.
The bailout bill has passed the Senate. But US stock markets are still highly volatile in the absence of any concrete deal passing Congress. Where can investors hide in these conditions? Sean Hyman says the answer lies in low-yielding currencies such as the yen and the Swiss franc.
– The Senate has passed a modified version of the $700 billion bailout bill Congress shot down on Monday. The bill passed 74 to 25.
– The bill passed by the Senate includes provisions to increase the FDIC’s bank deposit insurance limits and a $150.5 billion package tax cuts.
– Despite the passing of the bill in the upper house, US stock futures slipped this morning. MarketWatch reports that “S&P 500 futures fell 9.9 points to 1,158.50 and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 5.5 points to 1,573.25. Dow industrial futures dropped 71 points.”