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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (145614)	9/7/2014 1:01:27 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

Job Growth Is Sluggish, Raising Fear of Malaise More nonsense. So far, this year has seen the best job growth in 14.......since the Clinton years.

To: RetiredNow who wrote (145614)	9/7/2014 1:19:11 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 149317

From one month's worth of jobs data!!!!! What about the consecutive months of jobs growth in the past. I recall that last year you said the books were cooked. There were some TV talking heads who said the same. They have since fallen silent and we do not see them on talkshows anymore. When will you change? Or will you still persist in chasing outliers to prove your point?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (145614)	9/7/2014 7:19:32 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

Euros are going back down for the count..............they need to stop listening to the Austrian School and American wingers. Investors may catch a bad case of the European jitters Alex Rosenberg \| @CNBCAlex 1 Hour AgoCNBC.com COMMENTJoin the Discussion It hasn't been a great year for European economies. Italy has slide back into a recession. German GDP contracted in the second quarter, and German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble reportedly said on Thursday that the Eurozone's strongest economy is likely to miss its 1.8 percent growth estimate this year. Across the Eurozone, zero growth was shown in the second quarter, and recent manufacturing data indicates that the third quarter may not be much better. Still, these bad numbers haven't been too damaging for global risk assets—after all, they have clearly increased the European Central Bank's appetite to stimulate the economy. But there may be a limit to how bad Europe can get before bad news becomes bad news once again. The unintended beneficiary of ECB's policy move In fact, serious concerns about the Eurozone economy could be one reason why stocks didn't react too enthusiastically to the ECB's surprise Thursday announcement that it would cut rates and commence asset purchases. The "aggressively dovish moves by the ECB are not being taken well. They're being seen as a sign that the fundamental growth in Europe—which seemed promising less than a year ago—doesn't have a chance and therefore the ECB has to keep papering over the problems," wrote strategist Michael Block of Rhino Trading Partners in a Friday note. Judging by the muted, even skeptical market reaction to the ECB, investors "are certainly considering the notion that bad news is bad news," said Jim Iuorio of TJM Institutional Services. He added, however, that "I still think they're going to come to the conclusion that it's not. They're going to decide that more money in the system has to be a good thing." Read More ECB's stimulus surprise: Reactions around Europe Investors will get a better read on whether Europe is bouncing back in the week ahead. On Thursday, CPI data from Germany and France are released, giving a read on the pace of consumer inflation. And on Friday, investors will see industrial production numbers from all the members of the Eurozone. Meanwhile, ECB president Mario Draghi will deliver a speech in Milan on Thursday. But Europe's problem may be political just as much as economic. On the back of the ECB's latest action, worries about whether the European Union itself can hold may crop up again. Draghi said on Thursday that some nations were opposed to the ECB actions, and it has been reported that German Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann voted against both the rate cut and the asset purchases. If tensions between Germany and the ECB fester, and the weaker Eurozone economies worsen, jitters about a EU breakup may return. "It's a very, very tenuous union in many ways, and we see the conflict come to the forefront any time we have these issues," Boris Schlossberg of BK Asset Management said Thursday on CNBC's " Futures Now." German unease over ECB actions "could become a very, very serious problems." Europe could have a new problem on its hands: Pro Investors could be forgiven for having flashbacks to summer 2012, when fears of a Greek exit from the EU gripped investors, and concerns about a Spanish default reached a head. Markets in the U.S. reacted very negatively to the crisis, falling just about into correction territory. That said, in 2012, European yields were in a very different place. Over the past two years, the yield on Spanish 10-year notes has fallen from over 7 percent to below 2 percent. Thanks to the work of Draghi, "the risk premium on the euro and peripheral bond markets has become quite thin," commented Ken Dickson, the investment director for currencies at Standard Life Investments. "Some limited reversal is therefore possible, but our core view is that the ECB will not risk a return to the sovereign debt issues of the past. read more............. cnbc.com

To: RetiredNow who wrote (145614)	9/8/2014 11:01:04 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

Chris Christie’s downgrades start to pile up 09/08/14 10:10 AM By Steve Benen As if New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) didn’t have enough troubles, in the spring, political conditions for the scandal-plagued governor deteriorated further. New Jersey’s debt was downgraded for the sixth time since Christie took office, right around the time the governor scrapped his state pension-reform plan, once considered Christie’s “ landmark achievement.” Late Friday afternoon, the news got just a little worse. Wall Street analysts at Fitch Ratings today downgraded New Jersey’s bond rating for the second time this year, citing the state’s poor economic performance, Gov. Chris Christie’s rosy revenue forecasts – which failed to materialize – and his decision to plug the resulting budget gap by cutting $2.4 billion in funding for the state’s strained pension system. […] “New Jersey’s economic performance continues to lag that of the nation and a multitude of long-term spending demands are expected to prolong the achievement of sound financial operations,” the analysts wrote. Fitch is keeping a “negative outlook” for New Jersey, meaning an upgrade of the state’s credit rating is unlikely. This was the second time Fitch downgraded New Jersey’s debt, but the Garden State faced similar judgments from Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s. All told, since Christie took office, New Jersey has faced seven downgrades– and as the Star-Ledger’s report noted, that’s “ the most under any New Jersey governor.” Of course, Christie has only been in office five years. Presumably he still has time to break his own record. What’s more, as we talked about in May, it’s hard to even imagine what Christie will say when he launches his presidential campaign about his only experience in elected office. He can’t talk about his management sills, or his jobs record, or his fiscal record, or his legislative accomplishments – and bluster does not a national campaign make. In the meantime, it was exactly one year ago today that members of Christie’s team conspired and launched their dangerous scheme in Fort Lee, and the scandal remains very much alive. Ted Mann reported just yesterday: Hours after he angrily reversed now-infamous lane closures at the George Washington Bridge almost a year ago, Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, arranged for a private meeting with a top appointee of Gov. Chris Christie, to demand an explanation of the incident. Having already denounced the lane closure scheme as hazardous and illegal in an email to the agency’s board, executive staff and lawyers, Mr. Foye met in his Manhattan office with Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director and a top appointee of the New Jersey governor. Mr. Foye, for this showdown, brought along his chief of staff, John Ma, as a witness. The closures, Mr. Baroni said, were “something Trenton wanted,” according to people briefed on the conversation. Trenton, of course, is New Jersey’s capital, though it’s unclear exactly who in Trenton “wanted” this. Mann’s report followed a related Star-Ledger piece that ran last week, noting, “Port Authority police officers working at the George Washington Bridge last September say they were told by superiors to keep quiet after expressing concern that closing local access lanes would snarl traffic, according to a summary of the officers’ accounts.” Indeed, when one veteran police officer said over the radio that the lane closures were creating a public hazard, a supervisor told him to “shut up.” Aliyah Frumin added that the Democratic National Committee is “launching a geographically-targeted ad blitz” today, highlighting the one-year anniversary of the scandal.

To: RetiredNow who wrote (145614)	9/8/2014 12:16:47 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

‘SeaTac is proving trickle-down economics wrong’ 09/08/14 11:18 AM By Steve Benen The community of SeaTac, Washington, home to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, this year became the first in the nation to approve a $15 minimum wage law. It’s been more than eight months since the policy took effect, and Dana Milbank highlighted the results over the weekend. As fast-food workers demonstrate nationwide for a $15 hourly wage, and congressional Republicans fight off a $10 federal minimum, little SeaTac has something to offer the debate. Its neighbor, Seattle, was the first big city to approve a $15 wage, this spring, but that doesn’t start phasing in until next year. SeaTac did it all at once. And, though there’s nothing definitive, this much is clear: The sky did not fall. “SeaTac is proving trickle-down economics wrong,” says David Rolf, the Service Employees International Union official who helped lead the $15 effort in SeaTac and Seattle, “because when workers prosper, so do communities and businesses.” In fairness, SeaTac is a small community and the number of affected workers is quite modest, making this a difficult test case. Still, as Milbank’s piece noted, the owner of a SeaTac hotel, who had strongly opposed the minimum-wage increase during the 2013 debate, said the hike would invariably lead to local layoffs and eliminated jobs. That was last year. This year, with the $15 minimum wage in effect, the hotel is moving forward with a multi-million dollar expansion anyway. And what of Seattle, which will soon have easily the highest minimum wage of any major U.S. city? Milbank’s column added these valuable insights. In Seattle last week, I stopped in at the jammed Palace Kitchen, flagship of Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas, who runs upward of 15 establishments. He warned in April that the $15 wage could “be the most serious threat to our ability to compete,” and he predicted that “we would lose maybe a quarter of the restaurants in town.” Yet Douglas has opened, or announced, five new restaurants this year. Likewise, the International Franchise Association has sued to block implementation of the law, arguing that nobody “in their right mind” would become a franchisee in Seattle. Yet Togo’s sandwiches, a franchise chain, is expanding into Seattle, saying the $15 wage isn’t a deterrent. And a spokesman for Weyerhaeuser, the venerable wood and paper company, says the $15 wage didn’t factor into its decision, announced last month, to move its headquarters and 800 employees to Seattle from outside Tacoma. It’s against this backdrop that the political debate continues to unfold. The White House made a minimum-wage increase the subject of its official weekly address over the weekend, and just last week, two Republican opponents of a wage hike – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate hopeful Rep. Tom Cotton – both started hedging on whether an increase is a good idea.

To: RetiredNow who wrote (145614)	9/8/2014 10:04:39 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 149317

Not sure if you watched Obama's "Meet the Press" interview yesterday. The style of questioning by Chuck Todd was impressive. It seems to me that Chuck is messaging his viewers that "If you are not a political junkie, then my show would not be interesting to you." Moving right along, when I saw Obama needing to explain his approach to solving the problems overseas with regards to ISIS, Assad, Iraq etc. because of the questions that were asked, it told me how ignorant the American public have become. I was impressed that Obama was thinking like the American leaders of the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Take the case where Chuck, through his question, insinuated that Obama's blood should be boiling and he should demonstrate that through his policy towards ISIS, he deflected that discussion to say that it is not how he feels that is important but instead how the families of those who were executed feel. He went on to say that he is basing his policies on how those families feel. You could tell that he has given this question a thought. Ii was also impressed that he was very firm;y against American boots on the ground. American lives are not only precious, but since our technology is far far superior that those of other nations, we should loan our technical prowess by way of sharing intelligence from eavesdropping using sophisticated technology, precision bombing using drones etc. dropping the 500 pounders etc. I am fully in line with his thinking that we need to contribute to the effort those things that the other countries cannot. Besides, unlike Romney, Cheney and McCain, Obama surely knows the difference between potato chips and silicon chips. Or else he would be all for sending boots on the ground with bayonets and horses. Time to go to sleep peacefully, assuredly knowing that have "someone in the White House" who knows what to do after taking a phone call at 3:00 am"