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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MJ who wrote (98855)	1/25/2011 1:30:05 PM
From: tonto	Respond to of 224748

Instant view: January jolt for consumer confidence NEW YORK \| Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:00am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer confidence rose more than expected in January to its highest level in eight months, helped by growing optimism about the economy and the jobs market, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday. COMMENTS: TOM SAMUELS, MANAGING PARTNER, PALANTIR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, HOUSTON: "This plays into a rising tide of optimism, where enough time has passed where markets have been rising steadily that people are feeling less tense. You're also seeing the same kind of bounce in (President) Obama's approval numbers. "We're still getting very soft real estate numbers, so economically it doesn't seem there's much reason for increased optimism, but I think this could continue into the spring." ZACH PANDL, ECONOMIST, NOMURA SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL, NEW YORK: "Looks like the improvement in the stock market, better labor market conditions and signs of greater collaboration in Washington are starting to improve consumers' moods. "In level terms the number is still very depressed so we have a long way to go. It is still a glass-half-empty view of the world. But we're moving in the right direction and it is consistent with other evidence that the recovery is gaining some traction. "It is a fairly sizable surprise so it should be negative to the bond market and favorable to stocks to some degree." TOM PORCELLI, U.S. ECONOMIST, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, NEW YORK "This report is a good way to start the year. "This report has a very good correlation with the employment backdrop. Given the fact that the employment backdrop seems to be improving to some extent it's not a big surprise that you're seeing some improvement in this report. "The one thing that caught our eye is the fact that the 12-month inflation rate is 5.5, which is the highest since July '09. If you look at this on a trend basis, it's actually rising, so that's one thing you need to keep an eye on. "The move higher in Treasury yields started before this report came out but I think it'll help move that along." BRIAN DOLAN, CHIEF CURRENCY STRATEGIST, FOREX.COM, BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY "The UK news overnight was a reminder that it's really growth that matters right now, and we saw stagnation in the UK during the fourth quarter. That also puts a spotlight on ongoing weakness in peripheral Europe and probably diminishes ECB rate hike expectations. But in the U.S., we've got a strong consumer confidence number, so the story comes back around to the U.S. economic outlook, which looks stronger than Europe's or the UK's. That should bode well for the dollar against sterling and the euro."

To: MJ who wrote (98855)	1/25/2011 3:01:53 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224748

Seattle, Wa. During the worst of the Great Recession, after laying off four of 13 employees, Judy Coovert saw her Burien company PrintCom annual tax rate for unemployment insurance jump more than 230 percent. Under the state's unemployment-insurance formula, companies pay higher taxes if anytime in the previous four years they laid off employees who then received unemployment benefits. And all employers, regardless of whether they let go workers, pay a "social cost" tax to cover the workers of businesses that have closed. The depth and breadth of the Great Recession have meant all employers are being hammered by increases in the social-cost tax. Printcom, for example, has seen its rise 316 percent over the past two years to just over 2 percent of payroll. Then on Feb. 8 scheduled average 36 percent rate hike in unemployment tax is scheduled to take effect. This left Judy Coovert with no option but to layoff 1 more full time employee and cut a second to half time. Some law makers want to cut these taxes saying the state can afford to do this because it has one of the nation's richest unemployment-insurance trust funds but there is a lot of opposition to the idea. Meanwhile many small business are continuing to cut workers to pay higher taxes.