Income Falls, Core Inflation Picks Up

[spinbaby]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending was unchanged in January, a government report showed Monday, and a sharper-than-expected pickup in inflation sparked fears the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates faster than expected.

The Commerce Department said personal income fell 2.3 percent in January after hitting a record in December on a big dividend payout by Microsoft Corp. Excluding that one-time impact and other factors, personal income rose 0.5 percent in January compared with a 0.6 percent gain in December.

(Translation: we're all screwed)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&e=5&u=/nm/economy_dc

[tom_paine]

1. Wow, if the Sovietized numbers from the Amerikan Imperial Gouvernment

show THAT, then the truth must be that much worse...

[pansypoo53219]

2. no no no no

georgie said we turned the corner and and and they revised last quarters up! rich people are doing FINE. and that's all that counts.

[redqueen]

3. Personal Incomes See Biggest Dip in Decade

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050228/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

1 hour, 17 minutes ago

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON - Personal incomes which had been bolstered by a large stock dividend payment in December plunged 2.3 percent in January, the sharpest decline in more than a decade. Consumer spending was flat, the government reported Monday.

The Commerce Department (news - web sites) said the sharp January drop in incomes followed a record 3.7 percent jump in incomes in December with both months heavily influenced by a $3 per share dividend payment that computer software giant Microsoft made on Dec. 2.

Meanwhile, the number of new single-family homes sold in January fell 9.2 percent, the agency said in a second report.

The worse-than-expected performance pushed new home sales down to 1.11 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in January compared to a revised December rate of 1.22 million units. Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes and condominiums had fallen as well in January, dipping a slight 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.8 million units.

(more)

[november3rd]

4. the up side

Bush's ownership society (emphasis on "ownership") is upon us.

Although the numbers cited in this Reuters article were DRASTICALLY affected by the MicroSoft dividend payment, the bottom line is that WAGES fell.

This in the month that John Snow, our Secretary of the Treasury says, "GDP growth is the best since 1998 and the 'economy is in "good" shape.'"

You gotta love it.

From my perspective, the good news is that with all the deregulation, ordinary people will be able to set up co-ops and populist extragovernmental programs of their own.

For example, what's to stop me from lobbying my Representatives in the NY State legislature from creating a NY State Social Security program? Or, for that matter, what's to stop us from creating separate food, farm and energy programs from the US?

The US can "privatize" all they want, our CHOICE is to cooperate!

California and New York alone could start their own "private" cooperative and have the 5th or 6th largest economy in the world.

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20050228&s=greider

The Good News

The more Bush sabotages the Federal Government fiscally and legislatively, the stronger and more influential the Blue State progressives will become:

For one thing, the state funds have grown enormously in financial girth. Fiduciary institutions in general (including mutual funds, corporate pension funds and some others) are now the majority owners of the 1,000 largest US companies and collectively Wall Street's largest customer. The new strategies also seem more systematically focused because the public pension funds are not distant critics promoting broad principles of "socially responsible" behavior but major owners asking boards of directors tough and precise balance-sheet questions. Organized labor's active engagement also promises a much stronger base of popular support for reform ideas. So far, the collaborations among the progressive funds have brought together as much as $700 billion to support a corporate-governance issue, with a prospect of far greater firepower if other state pension funds join the cause (nationwide, public funds hold about $2.7 trillion and union-managed funds have another $400 billion).

The coalescence of labor and environmental activism is visible on an issue stalemated in regular politics--global warming. The overseers of around $800 billion in investor wealth have endorsed the Investor Network on Climate Risk, a coalition of pension funds with church-based, environmentalist and other like-minded shareholder activists led by Connecticut Treasurer Denise Nappier. The coalition is methodically engaging major corporations in the oil, auto and electric-utility sectors, which are the leading US sources of carbon emissions--that is, global warming. The strategy is beginning to win some meaningful admissions of corporate exposure to financial risks (more about this later).

[Igel]

10. Not wages, income.

If the article's correct there was a 1.4% increase in incomes over the two months. That's likely to be primarily wages.

[cthrumatrix]

5. Personal Incomes See Biggest Dip in Decade (AP)

Personal Incomes See Biggest Dip in Decade

1 hour, 46 minutes ago

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON - Personal incomes which had been bolstered by a large stock dividend payment in December plunged 2.3 percent in January, the sharpest decline in more than a decade. Consumer spending was flat, the government reported Monday.


The Commerce Department (news - web sites) said the sharp January drop in incomes followed a record 3.7 percent jump in incomes in December with both months heavily influenced by a $3 per share dividend payment that computer software giant Microsoft made on Dec. 2.


Meanwhile, the number of new single-family homes sold in January fell 9.2 percent, the agency said in a second report.

snip

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=668&e=2&u=/ap/economy

[GOPBasher]

6. But, but, but, but, but I thought the economy was great!!???

I thought Bush's totally awesome tax cuts had the economy steam-rolling! That's what the media keeps telling me. :eyes:

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. And let me guess, "the economy is strong" and the stock market

will gain 500 points this week. Sheeeesh.

[cthrumatrix]

8. corporate profits for some at all time highs --- oil companies awash in $$

[Lars39]

9. Rate it high, folks.

And bookmark it to boot.

[alfredo]

18. hasn't real estate been what hads been fueling this

economy the past few years? Is the drop in the new single-family numbers signal bad news? What about starts? Is that up or down?

[Javaman]

20. Finally proof...

I haven't gotten a raise in over 4 years...Hmmm last one was when Clinton left and moron took power. Funny how that is. It appears as if the rest of the county is finally catching up with this "booming" economy.
Stupid bastards.

[llmart]

23. Same goes for my husband.

He hasn't gotten a raise since Dopey and Dickhead took over. Our personal financial situation has taken a real nosedive since then. I never once bought into the crap the mediawhores were dishing out about the supposed "recovery". There never was one. I talk to the public all the time and I have yet to hear one person tell me his or her personal situation got better under Bush.

[TexasLawyer]

11. The bright side...

at least gays aren't getting married!

[spinbaby]

12. They can't afford to get married!

So that's the secret plan.

[TexasLawyer]

13. Good One!

[ProfessorGAC]

14. Naysayers!

Any questions? I have been telling DU for 36 months that the economic motion is virtually non-existent. This is a highly stagnant period with no momentum growth and little fundamental foundation on which to support future growth and expansion.

Some DU'ers have suggested that i always say the same thing. So, the open question is, how you like me now?
The Professor

[barb162]

15. hey prof, I have been saying the same thing

The NYSE has been basically flat for 4 years now. I think there's going to be a deep recession if not depression around Spring this year. There's just more and more unemployment that is being reported falsely, job growth, what there is of it, is in low paying sectors, I think a lot of people are financing themselves by taking home equity loans...it's going to unravel soon. And that deficit, the dollar dropping, I think there could easily be a perfect storm

[ProfessorGAC]

16. There Will Be No Depression

Trust me on this. There is a mile wide gulf because economic stagnation and depression, and we're not even close to the edge of that gulf.

The deficit is going to be a big problem, and the Repubs might just get away with "starving the beast" simply because by the time the rest figure it out, it'll be desperately late.

The Professor

[barb162]

21. I don't think there's far to go off the waterfall the way the deficit

and other issues (trade, jobs, dollar, oil prices, tax policy, etc) are being handled.

[redacted]

22. repeat: there will be no depression

I hear your nervousness about the economy. I personally find myself having anxiety about the falling dollar and all that means-- even though, it is greatly benefiting my clients and hence me.

And while I don't know enough about economics to make it concise enough to explain it to you it down to right here, right now.

The prof is right, there will be no depression.


---redacted

[sendero]

19. I always liked you..

.... and always believed the same thing. :toast:

We are in a holding pattern that, when it break out, will probably break to the downside.

As far as I'm concerned, everyone should stock up on beans, rice, ramen noodles, flour, baking soda, salt and oil. A few dried spices would be nice also :)

[daleo]

17. Microsoft's payout was enough to change a 2.3 drop to a .5 increase?

That seems either a little fanciful bookkeeping by the government, or a very bad sign of concentration of wealth. Take your pick. Neither interpretation seems like a good sign.

[pandorasox]

24. Drat, knew I shouldn't have bought those import DVDs

:smoke: