DOW drops 560 points in 2 days..."on Fed fears"

You mean, investors are worried that the Federal Reserve will stop shoveling cash into the Slop Market?? Could it be people have realized that this is all that's holding up the economy, fattening the rich faster than ever?

Uncle Sam is paying banks NOT to lend you money

The Federal Reserve is rewarding banks for not lending money. While bank deposits at the Fed rarely surpassed $25B in the past, there is a whopping $1 TRILLION there now, paying (overpaying!) .25% interest! CHASE has over $200B there and WELLS FARGO $100B. Money they should be LENDING to finance growth that would get us out of the Great Recession. But it's risk-free there. Given bankers' decisions in the past, maybe that's a good plan for them.

IT'S OFFICIAL: Recession since Dec'07

CNNMoney reports:
The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy .

'NUFF SAID! I was right, Bush was wrong...and bad...and thankfully gone. Now if we could just ditch the Fed!

I stand corrected!

We are TECHNICALLY not in a Recession: 4Q 2007 economic growth estimated at +.6%!
But as former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was quoted on Wednesday as saying,
“I believe the probability of a recession is at least 50 percent." Fed rate cuts notwithstanding!

Deef Probability: dead certain.

Stimulation or simulation? Action / reaction ?

OK, the Fed made a pre-emptive move that "rescued" the falling markets; but they've opened the door to the potential disaster of runaway inflation AND downturn...and Bush's "stimulus" package would be great *if*:
1. People SPEND THE MONEY ON GOODS and not pay down credit debt or hike savings.
2. We get the money TODAY, not in June!

Anyway, they're both acting like they could stop/delay the recession by throwing money at it. The only real solution is increased government spending on infrastructure, but Bush & Congress are not likely to go there. Watch for more economic turmoil by election day!

Stopping the Freight Train with a Brick

Bush gabs about an economic stimulus package...soonest it could be implemented is JUNE.
Too little, too late; and some say counterproductive (like the Federal Reserve rate cuts to
be made on Jan 30th).
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Fortune magazine poll of 1000 wage earners says over 3/4 see the handwriting on the wall:

Which of the following best describes the country's economic condition right now?

In an economic recession right now.......................19%
Heading into a recession in the next 12 months...57%
Not in a recession and not heading into one.........19%
No Answer/ Don't Know........................................... 5%

Deef's opinion: Recession Probability CERTAIN - UNDENIABLE - REAL - NOW

Merrill Lynch,MorganStanley vs Bernanke 1/4%

Bloomberg.com sez:
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. will slip into a "mild'' recession next year, Morgan Stanley said in its latest research, joining Merrill Lynch in predicting a downturn for the world's largest economy. "A mild U.S. recession is now likely, with no growth for the year ahead,'' Richard Berner, chief U.S. economist for Morgan Stanley in New York, said in his weekly note to clients today. "Financial conditions are tighter, the weakness is broadening into capital spending, and global growth is slowing.''

Bernanke and crew duly allowed the equity market to assume they would act boldly to stave off dollar losses...but then wimped out with only a quarter-point cut. Dow drops along with investor confidence. Back to reality, guys: the Fed always keeps one eye on inflation.

Deef's Recession Probabilty: 100%

Stocks Back Up (over 13000)...recession risk,too.

The Associated Press (in "Durable Goods 3rd Monthly Decline" article):

Many economists have raised the odds that the country could fall into an outright recession to as high as 40 percent although they believe that the Federal Reserve, which has already cut interest rates twice since September, will keep reducing rates if economic activity continues to falter.
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Deef sez **80%**; stock rally based on hopes of another (prop-me-up) Fed rate cut Dec 11th.
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Can you say volatile:
DJIA Mon 11/26 -237.5
Tue 11/27 +215
Wed 11/28 +254 midday

Cuts, Wounds that Oil does not salve

Fed rate cut gooses stocks, but does not affect the fundamental flaw in the economy: overspending at ridiculous rates of credit. Oil interests continue doing their share to disservice prosperity by jacking oil up toward $100 per barrel. The oil and banking interests seem bent on "killing the golden-egg-laying goose".

The Fed "Rescues" the Economy (humbug)

Well, the Fed has goosed the market again, by cutting interest rate by a half percentage point; no one is saying what is OBVIOUS: they are only UNDOING (trying to undo) the damage they did in RAISING rates in 2006!

Recession On Its Way???

Recession likelihood increases with Administration's continued denials that there is anything seriously wrong with the economy - guess they'd rather be seen as ignorant than foolish in failure. Expected Federal Reserve Board rate cut on Tuesday Sept. 18 will only be a band-aid now... What is needed now is the same thing we needed eight years ago: a sound fiscal policy that pays for what we use NOW and not later, and not hiding it beneath popular "tax cuts". While I am not a big fan of Federal programs in general or of her global health insurance plan specifically, it looks like Hillary's the one to get it done. Watch for my Iraq War posts to follow.