The labor situation has become so dire that you can now hire an American Blue Chip CEO for a dollar – and a ride to work.

Steep holiday discounts and bargain hunting boosted Black Friday sales, but a dour economic outlook leaves analysts skeptical that Americans will be able to sustain their buying frenzy for the duration of the holiday season.

Now that the turkey-induced coma has worn off, it’s time for the market to get back to work. Heading into the final month of the year, we could hope for an early Christmas present and a strong rally, but that will be a tall order.

Gloomy economic picture fuels risk aversion… Financials, energy, retailers among top drags… Dow off 4.3 pct, S&P 500 off 5 pct, Nasdaq off 5.3 pct

Data continue negative in the US…  China cuts rates… Chinese currency reserves to hit $2 trillion… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Projections for high-tech hardware makers are looking grim for the coming years. As a result, investors with shares in semiconductor companies or PC makers would be wise to eat their losses – unless they have the stomach to grind it out perhaps into 2010 or 2011.

If there’s a proverb that captures the outlook for the U.S. economy in the New Year, it’s the one that says: “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”

The news just keeps getting worse, and I note with dismay that the latest report of initial claims for unemployment are 516,000 – well past the psychologically-important half-million mark – personal bankruptcies averaged “4,936 per business day in October” – which is up 8% from September and 34% more than October 2007.

Buy gold, silver and oil as fast as you can, you morons, or die a horrible death by inflation like the people of Zimbabwe!

Data shows just how bad things are…  Trade deficits narrow…  EU confirms they are in a recession…  RBA intervening again… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!