First part of the good news:
New Filings for Jobless Claims Tumble
The Labor Department reported Thursday that new claims for unemployment aid plunged last week by a seasonally adjusted 27,000 to 451,000. Economists had predicted a much smaller decline of just 2,000.
The economy may be stabilizing after all. It's not where we would want it to be. After reading about the Mott's Strike where the company is trying to get the workers to accept a pay cut just so profits can increase, with no additional investment planned, I was worried. In the recovery, there have been too many companies that are hoarding cash, refusing to invest, and of course the CEOs who are rewarded for cutting jobs.
However I'm a bit annoyed at the AP for what they wrote later in the story.
Even with latest decline, new filing for jobless benefits are still much higher than they would be if the economy is healthy. When the economy is growing strongly and companies are hring, requests for unemployment benefits fall below 400,000.
Near double-digit unemployment is a political headache for President Barack Obama and his Democrat party with the congressional midterm elections just months away.
Obama, in an interview with ABC News, conceded that if the midterm election turns out to be mostly a referendum on the economy, "we're not going to do well."
Emphasis mine.
Maybe they haven't ever heard of the Democratic party. Maybe the AP is just an extension of the Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck types. Either way, they are extremely annoying.
More good news:
Trade Deficit Narrows in July
It's not just the trade deficit narrowing, it's why:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The trade deficit narrowed significantly in July as exports climbed to the highest level in nearly two years, reflecting big gains in sales of U.S.-made airplanes and other manufactured goods while imports declined.
Could US Manufacturing really be coming back?