End Times and Current Events

12/29/11

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/12/most_americans_optimistic_abou.html

Americans are hopeful for what 2012 will bring for their families and the country, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, though most say 2011 was a year they would rather forget. Nearly seven in 10 say the year gone by was a bad one, more than double those who consider it a success, according to the poll. But 62 percent are optimistic about what 2012 will bring for the nation, and more, 78 percent, are hopeful about the year their family will have in 2012.

Jeff Wolfe, 33, of Farmington, W.Va., said 2011 treated him well because he was able to find steady work as a lineman. But for the rest of the nation, things were "pretty rough," with so many Americans looking for jobs, he noted.
 
"For the first time since 2009, I worked all year," he said. Wolfe said he lost work in 2008 and again in 2010. But in 2011, the father of two school-age children said he was able to catch up on bills, buy his wife a new car and renovate his home.
 
Overall, the poll found 68 percent of Americans described 2011 as a bad year, compared with 29 percent who felt it was a good one.
 
A partisan divide, much like the one that ruled Washington this year, seems the only split in public opinion on 2011. Democrats were most likely to view 2011 positively (40 percent called it good), while independents and Republicans were less effusive. Beyond that, the poll found general agreement that 2011 is best left in the past.
 
Mary Burke, 57, of Ridgeland, S.C., felt economic pain in 2011. She saw prices rise for all of her expenses, from her light bill to groceries. "Paying $5 for a jar of mayonnaise is outrageous," she said.
 
Food and gas prices surged in 2011, but the most recent Consumer Price Index shows inflation leveling off. November statistics from the government showed a year-over-year inflation rate of 3.4 percent, the smallest such rise since April.
 
The AP-GfK poll found consumers are sensing the change. Just 18 percent of adults expect consumer prices to rise at a faster pace in the coming year, the lowest share to say so since the poll first asked the question in March. Most (51 percent) expect prices to rise at the same rate or more slowly.
 
And as the nation's economic fortunes overall appear to be tilting slightly positive, the public's expectations for the economy in the coming year are at their highest point since spring. According to the poll, 37 percent expect economic improvement in the next 12 months, compared with 24 percent who think the economy will slide downhill. That's the first time since May that significantly more people said things will get better than get worse.
 
On a personal level, 36 percent think their household's financial situation will improve over the next 12 months, while 11 percent think it will worsen. Americans' financial ebbs and flows affect their personal outlook for 2012. Those whose households have faced a job loss in the past six months or who describe their current financial situation as poor are less optimistic about what 2012 holds for them and their families than others, though that does not carry over to their forecast for the nation in 2012.
 
Optimism about the nation's path varies with views of the economy's direction. Those who say things have looked better in the past month are generally optimistic (79 percent), while just half of those who say things are getting worse feel positive about what 2012 holds for the country. And about 6 in 10 of those who distrust the two major political parties to handle the economy or job creation are pessimistic about how 2012 will turn out for the nation.
 
Burke said she is angered by politicians in Washington who she believes fail to look out for the interests of the American people.
 
"They don't care about me and you," she said. "They only care how they are going to line their pockets." As for the economy and nation improving in 2012, she said, "I pray and hope."
 
The partisan divide in impressions of 2011 persists in the outlook for 2012, with Democrats more optimistic than either Republicans or independents. But expectations for next year's presidential contest appear not to be a factor. Most partisans on both sides foresee victory for their side in the November 2012 presidential election: Three-quarters of Democrats say they think President Barack Obama will win re-election; three-quarters of Republicans say he will not.
 
The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted Dec. 8-12 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
 
Jennifer Agiesta, Associated Press
 
Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson contributed to this report.

While this article gets into the gritty details, for the most part, the *news headlines* concerning the unemployment rate is *good news*.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/unemployment-rate-jobs-report_n_1334329.html

Unemployment Rate "Holds Steady", Jobs Report For February 2012

It's not hitting home runs or anything, but the job market is starting to put together a hitting streak of solid singles and doubles.

The economy clocked in a third straight month of decent job growth in February, keeping unemployment steady, the government said Friday.

It was not exactly the spectacular report many on Wall Street were drooling for. And there is still a long way to go to close the gap in what has been the slowest job-market recovery since World War II.

You will not hear loud cheering from the 12.8 million people still unemployed today, up from less than 7 million before the recession began in 2007. Payrolls are still down by 5 million jobs from their peak.

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http://news.yahoo.com/unemployment-applications-way-down-last-weeks-spike-124845276.html

Unemployment Applications "Way Down" After Last Week's Spike

The national unemployment rate held steady last month, but the weekly number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time has been fluctuating pretty widely, falling by 14,000 in the last week after the previous week's gain of 8,000.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 351,000 people applied for unemployment benefits for the first time last week, down from the previous week's revised figure of 365,000. The four-week moving average stayed unchanged at 355,750. The drop over the past week puts the weekly first time unemployment applications back down to the early 2008 levels they hit in February, Reuters noted, calling the weekly reports "a hopeful sign for the labor market, which has enjoyed three straight months of employment gains above 200,000."

http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-approval-rating-50-percent-reuters-ipsos-poll-010138405.html

Obama's approval rating up to 50 percent: Reuters/Ipsos poll

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For the first time since early July, more Americans approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing than disapprove, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that shows his approval rating now at 50 percent.

The poll, taken March 8-11 on the heels of reports that 227,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in February, indicates that Obama's rating has risen by 2 percentage points during the past month. The percentage of Americans who disapprove of the Democratic president was 48 percent, down from 49 percent in February.

Some other polls have shown a recent dip in Obama's approval rating, and linked that to rising gasoline prices.

But for most Americans, other economic trends during the past month have been relatively positive. Obama appears to be benefiting from that, and perhaps from a bitter Republican presidential campaign that at times has focused on divisive social issues such as abortion.

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This seems to be the typical "bad news du jour" on the MSM...

Another twist in Dwight Howard saga

Dwight Howard will remain with the Orlando Magic for at least one more season after formally waiving the early termination option in his contract.

Howard’s decision is a big victory for the Magic and capped a wild week that saw Howard flip-flop about his future intentions until the final hours before the NBA’s trade deadline. By waiving the option, Howard will remain under contract with the Magic through the 2012-13 season and postpone his free agency for at least one more summer.

“I’m glad this is finally over with,” Howard said at a news conference to announce his decision.

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http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-wojnarowski_dwight_howard_magic_031412

Pretty much, this thread centers around all the pseudo-good news and the types of "bad news" that gives the masses in this world a misperception that somehow everything's getting better and better and on the right track.

Look how deceptively they've made recent economic reports look(despite the fact the current President has run up record debts). With all the "false flag" rumors that have come about during Obama's term, and nothing happening...over the long haul, look how it's built up Obama as this "leader who's kept this country uber-safe"(ie-with all the accolades Bush Jr got for "keeping us safe after 9/11"...no wonder why Obama has gotten even more accolades). Pretty much more rotten fruit.

Would also like to include here any pseudo-good news concerning the modern-day church, so please look out for this too.

Also, when you look at the "bad news", if the Dwight Howard-saga in Orlando is the "worst" news out there now...then everything is getting better and better, right? :-\ And you can throw in all the Peyton Manning speculations going on all week as well(which I'll admit I've been keeping up with too.  ;) )

And somehow the DOW is at 13K and counting? ::)

NYSE program trading volume, overall activity down
15 March 2012, By Nathalie Tadena (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nyse-program-trading-volume-overall-activity-down-2012-03-15

Program trading activity dropped on the New York Stock Exchange last week as overall volume also fell, according to the latest data from the NYSE Euronext unit.

For the week ended March 9, average daily program trading volume totaled 454.5 million shares, making up roughly 29% of the average daily total volume.

A week earlier, program trading totaled 586.3 million shares, about 34% of the average daily volume.

For the latest week, average daily total volume totaled 1.55 billion shares, down from the prior week's 1.74 billion shares.

The most active NYSE member firm for program trading last week was Morgan Stanley, followed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc..

Program trading encompasses a wide range of portfolio trading strategies involving the purchase or sale of a basket of at least 15 stocks.

Task Force set for long stay in Greece

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjBkoB88HnA

The European Commission's special task force providing assistance to the Greek government as it struggles to rebuild its economy has rented an entire building in central Athens on a 12-year lease.

It implies it will be a central feature in Greek politics and the economy for a long time. Its latest report says progress has been made. :-\

"PSI, (bond swaps), and the negotiations about the 2nd support program for Greece have eliminated some of the uncertainties over Greek development and it's now possible to have a new start," said Task Force leader Horst Reichenbach.

The IMF, another key player in the bailout, has its own team in Athens in the Central Bank building, whereas the task force's 45 members will work closely with 30 Greek ministries.

The IMF has stumped up a new four-year 28 billion euro loan.

With the aim of cutting Greek debt from 160% of GDP to 120% by 2020, across-the-board deregulation is to be implemented in labour, public services, and product markets, tax and social security legislation, the licencing system, and state control of the productive apparatus.

http://news.yahoo.com/p-ends-over-1-400-first-time-since-024934096.html

S&P 500 ends best week since December with quiet day

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed out its best week in three months with a slim gain on Friday as investors continued to propel equities near four-year highs.

Two slightly softer economic reports curbed broader gains, keeping both the Dow and the Nasdaq in modestly negative territory. The Dow broke a string of seven straight gains. Had it closed higher, it would have marked the Dow's longest such run in more than a year.

The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index rose for a fifth straight week, gaining 2.4 percent in its best weekly performance since mid-December. Investors, buoyant over the economic outlook, have pushed the S&P above 1,400 to its highest level since May 2008 after a surge of almost 30 percent from its most recent closing low on October 3.

Energy shares were the big gainers of the day. The S&P energy index <.GSPE> rose 1.2 percent in sync with a jump in crude prices, which advanced on continuing tensions over Iran's disputed nuclear program and the potential for supply disruptions in the region. Occidental Petroleum rose 1.7 percent to $100.58.

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Yet another "24/7 bad news of the day" item...

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/mccollum-leads-lehigh-75-70-upset-win-duke-15941860

Duke Upset by Lehigh in NCAA Tournament

Mike Krzyzewski knew this year's Duke team had its flaws.
 
Several of them hurt the Blue Devils in a big way on Friday night.
 
Austin Rivers and Mason Plumlee had 19 points apiece, but Duke struggled from 3-point range and lost 75-70 to Lehigh to become the second No. 2 seed to lose to a 15 during a wild day in the NCAA tournament.
 
The Blue Devils, who relied on the 3-point shot this season, went 6 for 26 from behind the arc and another speedy guard sliced through their defense. This time it was C.J. McCollum, who finished with 30 points.
 
"We're not a juggernaut or anything like that," Krzyzewski said. "We have known that throughout the whole season. You have to do it pretty precise, and we just didn't play well offensively the last few weeks of the season. Actually we got better defensively, but offensively we just weren't there."
 
Duke's players were stunned.
 
"It's just ... we all could've done more, man," Rivers said. "I never thought I'd be saying this after tonight."
 
Duke struggled all year long to meet its considerable standards, losing three games at home — a rarity in the Krzyzewski era. Despite the uneven play, the Blue Devils managed to stay in the top 10 in the polls.
 
A dramatic come-from-behind win over North Carolina on the road might have masked some problems.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46765791/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

Can this stock market rally keep chugging along?

The VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, has plunged to a five-year low

NEW YORK — Investors are beginning to wonder if this Energizer Bunny of a rally can just keep going without taking a break or a fall.

Every Friday for the past couple of months, the question has hung in the back of investors' minds: Is the stock market's rally strong enough to continue without a correction?

Even with the S&P 500 above levels unseen since before the financial crisis, the answer remains: Yes.

The broad market index broke through 1,400 -- a psychologically important level -- for the first time in four years this week. On Friday, the S&P 500 closed at 1,404.17, its highest since May 20, 2008. The index is up for nine out of the past 10 weeks.

"We are seeing this unbelievable rally in the market and yet the market is unbelievably complacent. We haven't been this bullish for a long time," said Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, based in Austin, Texas.

Indeed, the CBOE Volatility Index or VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, plunged to a five-year low despite the S&P 500's stunning gain of 12 percent for the year so far. The VIX measures the expected volatility in the S&P 500 index over the next 30 days and generally moves in the opposite direction of the broad market. Investors often use VIX options and futures as a hedge against a market decline.

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http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/israel-hearts-iran-peace-campaign-takes-off-facebook-160645131.html

Israel ‘hearts’ Iran: Peace campaign takes off on Facebook

(http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/S01r7MnC5Xl6vwCq5ZsCOg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/theenvoy/IsraeltoIranwithLove3301.jpg)

(http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/lWOOzJ.FN1zOFxe5nLN0og--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/theenvoy/irantoisraelwithlove3302.jpg)

Amid rising fears of an Israeli strike on Iran, an Israeli couple's lonely peace bid has become a surprise hit on Facebook.

The couple, graphic designers Ronnie Edri and Michal Tamir, decided on Saturday "to cut across the growing anxiety and fear over the possibility of an Israel-Iran war, and address Iranian citizens directly," Dimi Reider first reported in Israeli online magazine +972 (named for the country code for Israel) on Sunday.

So they uploaded to Facebook posters featuring smiling photos of themselves—ordinary Israeli citizens with their children—pledging their love for the Iranian people and assuring everyone that Israel will not bomb Iran. "Iranians, we will never bomb your country, we [heart] you," the posters, featuring smiling families, say.

"I'm not an official representative of my country," Edri wrote in his Facebook post to the Iranian people, explaining that he's just a father and a teacher, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Monday. And continued: "We love you. We mean you no harm. On the contrary, we want to meet, have some coffee and talk about sports."

Most surprisingly, the "Israeli hearts Iran" peace offering has now been met by an "Iranians love Israel" return solidarity campaign on Facebook. "We love you, Israeli people! The Iranian people do not like war with any country," a poster uploaded to Facebook states.

It's unclear how representative the campaign is of Israeli-Iranian public sentiment overall given the fear of war and official hostility between the respective governments. But Edri and Tamir say they've "received hundreds of private messages from Iranians saying they were deeply moved by the campaign," Reider reports. Now arch-enemies, Israel and Iran were allies until the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran. Iran still has one of the larger Jewish populations in the Middle East outside of Israel.

"I thought that when you're constantly surrounded by talk of threats and war, you are so stressed and afraid that you crawl into a sort of shell," Edri told Haaretz Monday. "So I thought, 'Why not try to reach the other side; to bypass the generals and see if they [Iranians] really hate me?'"

Be ye not deceived...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jobless-claims-fall-four-low-123230460.html

Jobless claims fall to four year low

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits dropped to a four-year low last week, offering further evidence the jobs market recovery was gaining traction.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the lowest level since February 2008, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 354,000 last week.

A separate report showed a gauge of future U.S. economic activity rose solidly in February, pointing to strengthening growth even as China slows. Some euro zone economies are already in recession.

"The economy is entering a phase where more of the gains from growth accrue to labor rather than capital and we believe that stronger job creation will be sustained throughout 2012," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.

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We're in the worst economy since the Great Depression, but en they're trying to entice everyone to get into more debt to go back to school?

http://education.yahoo.net/articles/degrees_employers_want.htm?kid=1LD58

College Degrees Employers Want Most
 
Find out why these five degrees are so in-demand with employers.

1. Business Administration

2. Engineering

3. Computer and Information Sciences

4. Accounting

5. Economics

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Speaking from someone who's an Accountant(and has a degree in CIS previously) - the job markets are DRY in these areas. FWIW, it wasn't all that great back in 2005 when I finished my Accounting studies.

Last week, the bad/hot news du jour of the week was the Dwight Howard-saga unrevelling in Orlando. This week? Looks like the New Orleans Saints and their "bountygate" took those honors.


Saints coach suspended for season over bounties
http://news.yahoo.com/saints-coach-suspended-season-over-bounties-221734416--spt.html

The New Orleans Saints' crush-for-cash bounty system already cost them head coach Sean Payton for all of next season and general manager Mickey Loomis for half of it, plus two second-round draft picks and a $500,000 fine.

Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who oversaw and contributed money to the illegal fund, was suspended indefinitely.

Unforgiving and unprecedented penalties Wednesday from an NFL determined to rid its sport of hits that aim to knock opponents out of a game.

Now Commissioner Roger Goodell will turn his attention to possible punishments for two dozen or so defensive players the league's investigation found were involved in the extra payouts that he called "particularly unusual and egregious" and "totally unacceptable."

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I get the Dallas Morning News, and guess what, not only was this story on the front page today, but it also happened to be THE first story on the front page(when there are much bigger stories needing to be reported out there now).

Dunno if the DMN editors go to the Bilderberg meetings et al, but just something I noticed. Anyone else see this story on your respective newspapers's front page today?

Be ye not deceived...

http://news.yahoo.com/home-sales-slip-prices-8-month-high-143754718.html

Signs of recovery grow in housing market

3/23/12

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The battered housing market looks to be on the mend as buyers make a tentative return and house prices stabilize.

Sales of new homes in February fell from January but jumped more than 11 percent compared with the same month last year and prices rose, according to data released on Friday that was in line with other recent signs of a slow recovery.

Big challenges lie ahead, most notably in the form of a glut of unsold properties - many of them foreclosures - and tight lending by banks. But even if the recovery is slow and bumpy, the worst of the six-year slump seems to be over.

"The housing market is slowly coming back. It's still a depressed market, but it's getting better. We have a long way to go," said Patrick Newport, an economist at Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.

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Oh really ::)

MISS: February New Home Sales Come In At 313k, January Numbers Revised Down
23 March 2012, by Sam Ro (Business Insider)
http://www.businessinsider.com/miss-february-new-home-sales-come-in-at-313k-january-numbers-revised-down-2012-3

February new home sales fell 1.6% to 313k at an annualized rate. Economists were expecting 325k.

Even worse, January's number of was revised down to 318k from a previous reading of 321k.

From the Census Bureau:

Sales of new single-family houses in February 2012 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 313,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This is 1.6% (±23.9%)* below the revised January rate of 318,000, but is 11.4% (±17.8%)* above the February 2011 estimate of 281,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in February 2012 was $233,700; the average sales price was $267,700.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of February was 150,000.

This represents a supply of 5.8 months at the current sales rate.

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Please Highlight The Housing Recovery On The Following Chart
23 March 2012, by Tyler Durden (Zero Hedge)
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/please-highlight-housing-recovery-following-chart

...of New One Family Homes for Sale which at 150,000 is the lowest print... Ever.

And no, "it can only go up from 300,000, 250,000, 200,000, 150,000... 0" does not work with us.

(http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/HNFSEPUSSA_Max_630_378.png)

Source http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/HNFSEPUSSA

http://news.yahoo.com/optimistic-greece-says-eu-task-force-boss-132619020.html;_ylt=AoaxKdGLlkBssP5LBxAMnyfzWed_;_ylu=X3oDMTRvaDhlZGQ5BGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDEwMDBwb29sd2lraXVwcmVzdARtaXQDTmV3cyBmb3IgeW91BHBrZwM3NDI5NzE1Zi0zYmIwLTMxODEtYTJmMS0xYjI3NjgzNjA4MDkEcG9zAzEEc2VjA25ld3NfZm9yX3lvdQR2ZXIDY2RkYTg4YzAtNzViZi0xMWUxLTlkZWUtNmMyZGM0NjQ3YzRi;_ylg=X3oDMTNhcmpiMTkyBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDZmIzZjcxMjQtZmQ4NC0zY2U4LTlkODMtMzE5NzYwMWMwN2YyBHBzdGNhdANidXNpbmVzc3xlYXJuaW5ncwRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2UEdGVzdAM-;_ylv=3

Optimistic on Greece, says EU task force boss

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Greece is well on track in its efforts to improve how it monitors its finances, the head of the European Commission's special task force said, while adding that its banking system remained in difficulty.

"I am optimistic as never before," Horst Reichenbach told Austria's Passauer Neue Presse newspaper in an article published on Saturday.

"The segment in the finance ministry which is responsible for pensions has greatly improved," he noted.

Reichenbach, who heads the special task force to help rebuild the Greek economy, said carrying out sufficient tax audits at Greek companies and the country's wealthy population remained challenging.

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Didn't they say this last week? ::)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-jobless-claims-fall-lowest-125524336.html

US jobless claims fall to lowest level in 4 years
US unemployment aid applications hit lowest level in 4 years, evidence of stronger job market

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in four years, adding to evidence that the job market is strengthening.

Applications for weekly unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the fewest applicants since April 2008. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined to 365,000 — the fewest for that measure since May 2008.

When unemployment benefit applications drop consistently below 375,000, it usually signals that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate. The decline has coincided with the best three months of hiring in two years.

The department made annual revisions to the past five years of data, which increased the number of applications in recent months and showed a slower decline. Still, even after the revisions, applications have fallen roughly 12 percent over the past six months.

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http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/around-the-world-abc-news/everyday-heroes-battle-against-aids-111547486.html

Everyday Heroes in "Battle Against Aids"

AIDS effects nations, continents and communities, but for people dealing with the disease every day, it's a personal battle they have to fight and come to terms with themselves.

Last week we looked at the global and political fight against AIDS. This week we turn our focus to three individuals on the front line, whose lives have all been changed by the disease.

Dr. David Ho was a young physician in Los Angeles trying to make a career for himself when he began seeing a mysterious disease effecting gay men. Since then, he has dedicated his career to AIDS research. In 1996 he was TIME magazine's Person of the Year for his work on the pioneering antiretroviral "****tail" that have made HIV a manageable disease.

Christina Pena has never known life without HIV. She contracted the disease at birth and joins us to share her experience as a 27-year old woman living her life HIV positive. A perspective that she uses to educate children living with HIV/AIDS as a Spokesperson for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.

Author Edmund White found out he was HIV positive while living in France in 1985. At that time a positive diagnosis was a virtual death sentence which saw White attend dozens of funerals for friends who succumbed to the disease in the 1980's. He's gone on to found the Gay Men's Health Crisis which is based near his home in New York City. His latest book, "Jack Holmes and his Friend," looks at the dynamics of heterosexual-homosexual friendship set against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis of the 1980's.

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^^

Mat_24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Luk_21:11  And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

2Co_10:17  But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

http://money.msn.com/market-news/post.aspx?post=087cac64-3d67-4737-b94a-31c3ff49ba16

Dow, S&P 500 push to best 1st quarter since 1998

The Nasdaq slips but has its best start since 1991. Apple falls below $600. Heallthcare and energy shares lead the market. Consumer spending hits a 7-month high in February. A payments breach hits a credit-card processor. Oil and gold are higher.

Updated: 4:50 p.m. ET

It was a good month and a great quarter for investors as stocks ended March with their best first quarter performances since at least 1998.

The major averages moved higher in part due to improved consumer confidence and the largest gain in consumer spending in seven months.

At the same time, health care and energy stocks were the market leaders -- the former because of investor speculation that the Supreme Court will void part or all of the U.S. health care law. Higher oil prices boosted energy shares. Crude oil (-CL) settled up 24 cents to $103.02 a barrel.

The big question is how stocks will perform in the coming months. Stocks continued to rally into April in 2011 and April 2010 but slumped through the late spring and summer before a fall rally set in. While the quarter has been great, the market performance in March has been more subdued.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/state-unemployment-report-shows-widespread-152700749.html

3/30/12


State unemployment report shows widespread improvement

Unemployment fell in 29 states in February and rose in only eight, the government reported Friday, in another sign of broad improvement in the U.S. labor market.

The improvement means there are only three states with unemployment above the 10% mark -- Nevada with a 12.3% unemployment rate, Rhode Island, which has 11% unemployment, and California, where unemployment stood at 10.9%.

North Carolina and Mississippi dropped out of the states with double-digit unemployment.

As many as 19 states suffered 10% or more unemployment as a result of the recent recession. As recently as last September there had been 10 states with a jobless rate of 10% or more.

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Again, be ye not deceived...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/consumer-spending-jumps-income-growth-130239380.html?l=1

Consumer spending jumps, GDP prospects brighten

Reuters – Fri, Mar 30, 2012 12:41 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending increased by the most in seven months in February as households shook off a rise in gasoline prices, leading economists to raise forecasts for first-quarter growth.

Even with gasoline around $4 a gallon, Americans were more optimistic about the economy's prospects this month than at any other time over the past year, drawing solace from a firming labor market.

The Commerce Department said on Friday that consumer spending rose 0.8 percent in February as demand for long-lasting goods, like automobiles, rose sharply. It also said spending in January was double the previously reported 0.2 percent gain.

Separately, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final March reading for the overall consumer sentiment index rose to 76.2, the highest level since February 2011, from 75.3 in February.

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So hiring newly college grads all of a sudden made a 180 after recent years of being incredibly bad? ::)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/grad-job-slump-big-hiring-back-us-colleges-120235660.html

4/1/12

After grad job slump, big hiring is back at U.S. colleges


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sean Chua expected the hunt for his first job after college to be tough. After all, he watched his brother struggle to find a position when he graduated back in 2008.

But his fears were unwarranted. The 21-year-old justice major at American University sent out only seven resumes before getting an offer earlier this month from IBM for an IT consulting job, making him a beneficiary of a turnaround in the labor market for U.S. graduates. "My mom's first position was with IBM so she is particularly proud," says Chua.

Hiring is back in a big way on many college campuses, one of several signs a recovery in the U.S. jobs market is gaining traction. After four years during which many students graduated to find no job and had only their loans to show for their studies, most college campuses are teeming with companies eager to hire.

A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found 2012 hiring is expected to climb 10.2 percent, above a previous estimate of 9.5 percent.

Companies such as General Electric, Amazon, Apple and Barclays Global are looking for new staff, even if some firms remain below the pre-recession levels of new hiring. In another sign of the recovery, some first-time job seekers are receiving multiple offers.

At University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the career service office has seen up to now a 7.4 percent increase in the number of interviews of students by potential employers from last year and the number of companies seeking to recruit for full-time jobs is up 9.2 percent.

Undergraduate business majors reporting full-time job offers is up about 10 percent.

Career experts at a dozen of U.S. schools said they have seen an increase of 15 to 30 percent in the number of companies attending campus career fairs. At University of Florida, the fall career fair garnered 15 percent more companies in attendance than in 2010.

And 150 companies asked to conduct interviews versus about 100 in recent years, said Ja'Net Glover, associate director of employer relations at the school.

The increase in demand was so significant that it was the first time in years the school had to use both the first and second floors of the school's basketball facility for interviews.

"It's kind of like a no-brainer," says Kathy Sims. Director of Career Services at UCLA. "The economy is better and the college recruitment market is improving."

While the U.S. jobless rate fell to 8.3 percent in February, unemployment among college graduates over the age of 25 stood at 4.2 percent. Historically, their jobless rate is half that of Americans with only a high school education. Over the recession, unemployment among graduates climbed as high as 5 percent, sparking protests over the rising tuition cost of some U.S. colleges.

U.S. unemployment data for March, due for release on April 6, is expected to show a total of just over 200,000 jobs were created in the month, keeping the overall unemployment rate at 8.3 percent.

BACKLOG FROM PAST YEARS, INTERNS SOAR

College graduates' earnings are also on the rebound. NACE says the median wage for first-time job seekers after college for 2012 is up 4.5 percent higher than a year ago to $42,569.

That initial pay level can resonate over the span of a career. Several studies show that the life-time earnings for workers who enter the labor force at time of economic recession are lower than lifetime earnings of those who are hired amid an economic recovery.

Given the tepid recovery of the economy, some caution is required.

In 2008, many college graduates who had already accepted job offers were later away. After the run of lean years, many graduates are stuck in low-paying jobs and professions that never intended to follow, meaning there could be a backlog of well-educated workers who need to get their careers on track as well as new graduates.

However, with a wide range of employers -- from automakers to investment banks -- back on campus offering internships and full-time jobs, and not just to engineering, computer science and math majors, the outlook for the Class of 2012 looks rosy.

General Electric wants to hire 5,000 interns this year, up from its usual 3,000 to 4,000. Since 70 percent of its full-time hires come from the interns pool, Steve Canale, head of global recruiting, said that uptick will also translate into more full-time jobs after graduation.

"(Companies) are saying, 'we have an aging workforce, and we have to replenish the pipeline.' GE has always done it, but this year a lot of other companies are also reloading their talent pool," Canale said.

Chrysler said it plans to hire 400 interns this year compared to 256 in 2011. The automaker has also hired almost 4,000 salaried employees since June 2009, about a quarter of which are new college graduates.

The pick-up in hiring extends to industries that were among the hardest hit during the financial crisis. Schools report that banking and financial services companies have returned to campus for the Class of 2012.

It's a stark contrast from just a few years ago when smaller firms appeared on campuses to replace the corporations no longer showing up.

"Even students with lower grades are finding opportunities," says Notre Dame's Svete, who believes job placement at the school is up about 7 percent. In 2009, only 75 percent of students had jobs or plans for graduate school at graduation. This year, the school expects that to climb to 85 to 88 percent, closer to the 90 percent level of 2007.

Nathan Pace, a senior at American University, hasn't yet found a job, but is confident for his future job. He started the college four years ago and he has since seen each class of graduating seniors have better luck finding jobs.

Many of his friends recently secured job offers. "The vibe on campus is that people are excited," says Pace.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/reich-superficial-labor-market-improvements-masks-erosion-wages-133111886.html?l=1

4/2/12

Unemployment May Be Down, But So Are Wages and Benefits

In many respects, the jobs market is improving. Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will report how many jobs the economy added in March. Economists expect it will be the fourth straight month in which the economy creates more than 200,000 payroll jobs. The unemployment rate has fallen from 10 percent in October 2009 to 8.3 percent in February. At the end of January, there were 3.5 million jobs openings at the end of January.

That's the good news. The bad news? As I discuss with Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary in the Clinton Administration, according to several less-publicized metrics, the overall job market and the experience of workers continues to decline or remains at highly depressed levels.

"We do know that more jobs are being created," said Reich, professor of public policy of the University of California at Berkeley. "The problem is that the actual labor participation rate, the ratio of people who are in the labor force relative to the people who are eligible to work, it's down to almost the lowest point it was during the great recession. We haven't seen much pickup in that." In February, it stood at 63.9 percent, which was down from 64.2 percent in February 2011, and significantly below the 66 percent levels of 2006 and 2007.

In addition, while the economy has been expanding for nearly three years and hiring is picking up, Reich notes, "we also see some major declines in terms of median wage. And that's particularly true for the bottom 90 percent."

more

Net migration from Mexico dips to zero

4/24/12

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/net-migration-mexico-dips-zero-143325289.html

Mexican migration into the United States has come to a standstill and may soon reverse, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center. This marks a dramatic change in the wave of Mexican migration that brought 12 million people to America over four decades.
 
About 1.4 million Mexicans immigrated to the United States between 2005 and 2010, which is roughly the same number of Mexicans who left over the same period.
 
The number of illegal immigrants from Mexico dropped from 7 million in 2007, a peak, to 6.1 million in 2011. The report attributes the drop to the drastic decline in birthrates in Mexico, the increasingly dangerous passage across the border, and the flagging American economy. A higher percentage of deported migrants now say in surveys that they will not attempt to come back into the United States (compared to 10 years ago).
 
The United States' estimated 12 million Mexican immigrants represent the largest chunk of immigrants in any country in the world. Mexico has sent more immigrants to the States over the past four decades than any other nation.
 
According to the Mexican census, 500,000 U.S. citizen children were living in Mexico in 2010, compared to 240,000 10 years earlier. Government data doesn't say how many of those children left the United States because their parents were deported.

5 New Lies That The Federal Reserve Is Telling The American People

The Federal Reserve says that everything is going to be okay.  The Fed says that unemployment is going to go down, inflation is going to remain low and economic growth is going to steadily increase.  Do you believe them this time?  As you will see later in this article, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been dead wrong about the economy over and over again.  But the mainstream media and many Americans still seem to have a lot of faith in the Federal Reserve.  It doesn't seem to matter that Bernanke and other Fed officials have been telling the American people lies for years.  As I always say, most people believe what they want to believe, and many people seem to want to have blind faith in the Federal Reserve even when logic and reason would dictate otherwise.  The truth is that things are not going to be getting much better than they are right now.  When the next wave of the financial crisis hits, the U.S. economy is going to fall back into recession, financial markets are going to crash and unemployment is going to absolutely skyrocket.  But you will never hear any of that from the Federal Reserve.

The following are 5 new lies that the Federal Reserve is telling the American people.  After each lie I have posted what The Economic Collapse Blog thinks is actually going to happen....

#1 The Federal Reserve says that the labor market has improved and that unemployment is going to decline significantly over the next few years.

The following is a quote from the FOMC press release that was released on Wednesday....

    Labor market conditions have improved in recent months; the unemployment rate has declined but remains elevated.

The Federal Reserve is projecting that the unemployment rate will fall within the range of 7.8 percent and 8.0 percent by the end of 2012.

The Federal Reserve is also projecting that the unemployment rate will fall within the range of 6.7 percent and 7.4 percent by the end of 2014.

The Economic Collapse Blog says that the labor market has not improved.  In March 2010, 58.5 percent of all working age Americans had a job.  Exactly two years later in March 2012, 58.5 percent of all working age Americans had a job.  If the labor market was improving, the percentage of working age Americans with a job should have gone up.

The Economic Collapse Blog also says that while there is a chance the official unemployment rate may go down slightly in the short-term, the truth is that it is going to go up into double digits once the next wave of the financial crisis hits us.

#2 The Federal Reserve says that that U.S. economy is going to experience solid GDP growth over the next couple of years.

In fact, the Federal Reserve is projecting that U.S. GDP will be rising at an annual rate that falls between 3.1 percent and 3.6 percent by the end of 2014.

The Economic Collapse Blog says that a great economic cataclysm is coming....

    "When the European banking system crashes (and it will) it is going to reverberate around the globe.  The epicenter of the next great financial crisis is going to be in Europe, and it is getting closer with each passing day."

#3 The Federal Reserve says that we can expect low inflation for an extended period of time.

The Federal Reserve is officially projecting that the annual rate of inflation will not be higher than 2.0 percent by the end of 2012.  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reinforced this projection during his press conference on Wednesday....

    “But we expect that to pass through the system, and assuming no new shocks in the oil sector, inflation ought to moderate to about 2 percent later this year.”

The Economic Collapse Blog says that the Fed is being tremendously dishonest and that if inflation was measured the exact same way that it was measured back in 1980, the annual rate of inflation would be more than 10 percent right now.

The truth is that most middle class families know that we do not have low inflation right now.  This is hammered home millions of times a day when average Americans visit the gas station or the grocery store.

At the beginning of the next recession inflation will likely subside, but that will only be because economic activity will be slowing down dramatically.

#4 The Federal Reserve says that it has built up a 30 year reputation for keeping inflation low.

Ben Bernanke actually had the gall to make the following claim during his press conference on Wednesday....

    "We, the Federal Reserve, have spent 30 years building up credibility for low and stable inflation, which has proved extremely valuable in that we’ve been able to take strong accommodative actions in the last four, five years to support the economy."

Oh really?

The Economic Collapse Blog says that the Federal Reserve has nearly a 100 year reputation for destroying the value of the U.S. dollar.  Even using the Fed's doctored numbers, the value of the U.S. dollar has declined by more than 95 percent since 1913.

To get a really good idea of just how much the dollar has been destroyed by the Fed over the years, just check out this chart.

#5 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says that we should trust him because the Federal Reserve stands ready to do whatever is necessary to support the U.S. economy.

"If appropriate... we remain entirely prepared to take additional action"

The Economic Collapse Blog says that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is doing a great disservice by not warning the American people about the tremendous crisis that is coming.  In a recent article I stated that this next crisis will blindside most Americans just like the last one did....

    "Sadly, just like back in 2008, most people will never even see this next crisis coming."

So who should you trust - the Federal Reserve or all of the half-crazed bloggers out there that are warning about the "serious doom" that is coming.

Well, come back to this article in a year or two and compare how accurate the predictions were.

In the end, time will tell who is telling lies and who is not.

If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.

For example, let's take a quick look at Ben Bernanke's track record over the past several years.

The following are statements that Bernanke actually made to the public....

#1 (July, 2005) "We’ve never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. So, what I think what is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending a bit. I don’t think it’s gonna drive the economy too far from its full employment path, though."

#2 (October 20, 2005) "House prices have risen by nearly 25 percent over the past two years. Although speculative activity has increased in some areas, at a national level these price increases largely reflect strong economic fundamentals."

#3 (November 15, 2005) "With respect to their safety, derivatives, for the most part, are traded among very sophisticated financial institutions and individuals who have considerable incentive to understand them and to use them properly."

#4 (February 15, 2006) "Housing markets are cooling a bit. Our expectation is that the decline in activity or the slowing in activity will be moderate, that house prices will probably continue to rise."

#5 (February 15, 2007) "Despite the ongoing adjustments in the housing sector, overall economic prospects for households remain good. Household finances appear generally solid, and delinquency rates on most types of consumer loans and residential mortgages remain low."

#6 (March 28, 2007) "At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained. In particular, mortgages to prime borrowers and fixed-rate mortgages to all classes of borrowers continue to perform well, with low rates of delinquency."

#7 (May 17, 2007) "All that said, given the fundamental factors in place that should support the demand for housing, we believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will likely be limited, and we do not expect significant spillovers from the subprime market to the rest of the economy or to the financial system.  The vast majority of mortgages, including even subprime mortgages, continue to perform well.  Past gains in house prices have left most homeowners with significant amounts of home equity, and growth in jobs and incomes should help keep the financial obligations of most households manageable."

#8 (January 10, 2008) "The Federal Reserve is not currently forecasting a recession."

#9 (June 10, 2008) "The risk that the economy has entered a substantial downturn appears to have diminished over the past month or so."

But don't worry, Ben Bernanke insists that he knows exactly what is going on this time.

So do you believe him?

A lot of Americans don't.  In fact, an "economic collapse" is the number one catastrophic event that Americans worry about according to one recent survey.

Perhaps that is one reason why so many Americans are preparing for doomsday these days.

The central planners over at the Federal Reserve are not going to solve our economic problems.

The truth is that the Fed is at the very heart of our economic problems.

We have been living in the greatest debt bubble in the history of the world and that debt bubble has been facilitated by the Fed.

Over the past three decades, the total amount of debt in America has increased by about 50 trillion dollars.  By stealing from future generations, we have been able to live like kings and queens, but there is going to be a great price to pay for our foolishness.

Ben Bernanke and the other folks running the Federal Reserve are just going to keep insisting that everything is going to be okay for as long as they possibly can.  They are going to tell you that they know exactly how to fix things and that the economy will be back on track very soon.

Don't be stupid and believe them this time.

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http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/5-new-lies-that-the-federal-reserve-is-telling-the-american-people

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-rise-on-technology-revival-2012-04-26?siteid=yhoof2

April 26, 2012, 4:50 p.m. EDT

U.S. stocks extend rise on earnings, housing
NAR index of pending U.S. home sales hits two-year high

 ::)

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks extended gains into a third day Thursday as better-than-expected data on housing and an upbeat forecast from Citrix Systems Inc. helped lift the S&P 500 Index above 1,400 for the first time in three weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/zigman/627449 DJIA +0.87%  added 113.90 points, or 0.9%, to 13,204.62, with the blue-chip index up 1.4% so far for the week.

Of the 51% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported first-quarter results so far, 72.4% have reported earnings above expectations, 11.8% reported earnings in line with expectations and 15.7% reported earnings below estimates, according to Thomson Reuters analyst Greg Harrison.

more

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-index-futures-signal-mixed-092819864.html?l=1

S&P 500 rallies for week on Amazon, Expedia results
Reuters – Fri, Apr 27, 2012 5:54 PM EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced on Friday and posted their best weekly gains in a month as stronger-than-expected earnings from Amazon.com and Expedia Inc reinforced confidence in corporate performance.

Wall Street managed a fourth day of gains as the strong earnings season outweighed a surprisingly weak reading on first-quarter economic growth.

Online retailer Amazon climbed 15.7 percent to $226.85 and contributed half of Nasdaq's gain for the day. An S&P retail index rose 3.5 percent and hit an all-time high. Shares of Expedia, the Web-based travel provider, surged 23.5 percent to close at $40.31, after hitting a new high at $43 on record volume.

Growth in S&P 500 earnings rose to 7.2 percent this week from 3.2 percent at the start of the month, according to Thomson Reuters data. About 73 percent of the companies that have reported so far have beaten expectations.

more

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-index-futures-point-flat-111721633.html?l=1

Dow Hits More Than 4-Year High as Economy Fears Ease

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rallied on Tuesday and the Dow hit its highest level since December 2007, after data showed the manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace than expected in April, easing jitters about a slowdown in the economic recovery.

With most markets in Europe and several major Asian markets closed for the May Day holiday, investors shifted their attention to U.S. economic data.

Data from the Institute for Supply Management showed growth in U.S. manufacturing improved, coming in at its strongest rate in 10 months in April. That reading suggested the economy remains resilient after indications it had lost momentum at the start of the second quarter.

"Good numbers came out today on the manufacturing side that took some people by surprise," said Amy Wu, equity derivatives strategist at RBC.

But she noted that some European markets are closed for May Day while many Asian markets are closed during Golden week so the entire market hasn't had the time to react to today's numbers. She added "that's why, while some indexes have reached new highs, the market is quiet somewhat."

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI) was up 108.23 points, or 0.81 percent, at 13,321.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (MXP:^SPX) was up 14.94 points, or 1.07 percent, at 1,412.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index (NAS:^COMP) was up 25.71 points, or 0.84 percent, at 3,072.07.

The Dow earlier rose as high as 13,338.66 points.

In April, the S&P 500 posted its first monthly decline since November as economic data pointed to a slowing domestic economy and continued flare-ups in the euro zone highlighted the risks of the region's debt crisis.

Of the 321 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results so far, 71.3 percent have topped analysts' estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning,

Earnings are expected from 32 S&P 500 companies on Tuesday, including these three after the closing bell: Broadcom Corp (BRCM), Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK) and Fiserv Inc (FISV).

Chesapeake, the nation's No. 2 natural gas producer, climbed 7.7 percent to $19.86 after it said it will name an independent, non-executive chairman to replace Aubrey McClendon. The company will also end a controversial program that has granted McClendon minority stakes in Chesapeake's wells.

Shares of nutrition and weight loss company Herbalife Ltd (HLF.N) fell 20.9 percent to $55.64 after influential short-seller David Einhorn questioned why the company had stopped disclosing distributor names in its annual filings. Greenlight Capital's Einhorn raised the issue during the company's earnings call on Tuesday.

BP Plc's (BP.L) profit dropped on a fall in production prompted by the sale of oil fields to pay for the Gulf of Mexico disaster. U.S.-listed shares of BP (BP) fell 1 percent to $42.96.

Huntsman Corp (HUN) jumped 9.9 percent to $15.56 after profit nearly tripled on higher prices for its chemicals.

Health-care stocks rose, boosted by Molina Healthcare Inc (MOH), which advanced 4.8 percent to $26.88 after the company's earnings topped estimates.

The Morgan Stanley healthcare payor index (PSE:^HMO) gained 1.9 percent.

PF Chang's China Bistro Inc (PFCB) surged nearly 30 percent to $51.48 after the restaurant chain agreed to be bought by a private equity firm.

If you stop and think about it. In order for them to say "peace and security" IF "THEY" is the government and not people crying out for peace and security because things are so bad - then in that case they would have to at least feel they had accomplished "it" in their minds.

Yet remember it comes as a thief in the night to even those looking for it.

Take the TSA scanners at airports, for example - what is the government saying why it's here? For "peace and security" of the people - at the same time, it seems like the masses are RESPONDING AS SO.(ie-I know people who say how it's such a great idea b/c of all these arabs immigrating here, whatever...)

Good point.

http://news.yahoo.com/first-monthly-budget-surplus-three-years-131646630--abc-news-politics.html

5/8/12

First Monthly Budget Surplus in Three Years ::)

The Congressional Budget Office has  reporteda monthly budget surplus of $58 billion,  which would be a first in nearly three years.
 
The improved numbers are attributed to a 10 percent increase in tax revenue.  The month of April coincides with tax season which typically results in a yearly surplus, but hasn't happened since the 2008 financial crisis when tax revenue fell.
 
"It is a clear signal that the government's fiscal situation is finally moving definitively in the right direction," said Mark Zandi who is the chief economist for Moody's Analytics.
 
Next month's report will likely show a budget deficit, but the small surplus is an important milestone in the nation's struggle to fend of a future debt crisis.

more

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/gas-prices-falling-next-stop-3-gallon-153509788.html?l=1

Gas Prices Falling: Next Stop $3 a Gallon?

Mainstream media spent much of early 2012 selling consumers on the idea that $5 per gallon gas was inevitable. Not wanting to seem insensitive to genuinely cash-strapped consumers, pundits and politicos blamed Iran, energy policy and speculative "gambling" as the cause of the march towards all-time high prices at the pump.
 
Then, just when the outrage was truly building, crude oil and gasoline prices started moving lower. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil has fallen 10% since the start of May! According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline has dropped to $3.76 from $3.92 in just the last one-month period. Still painfully high but well below what we were paying this time last year -$3.96 a gallon.
 
According to Phil Flynn, contributor to the Fox Business Network and senior energy analyst at PFG BEST, the recent decline in energy prices is only getting started. The admittedly "pro-giddy" Flynn says there's a glut of oil available and lessening demand; an economics 101 recipe for falling prices.
 
Flynn runs through a list of reasons why crude oil is weak, including record OPEC output, the crumbling economy in Europe, and a run of horrible economic in the U.S., culminating in Friday's atrocious jobs report.
 
"The question isn't why oil is falling," he says. "The question should be why it's held up so good so long?"
 
An even better question for Americans is how crude oil can be down 10% but gasoline prices only half that much.
 
Flynn says one reason for the "stickiness" of gas prices is the seasonal "summertime blends" mandated by the Government in order to cut down smog. The cleaner burning gas makes it easier to breathe but costs more than the norm. This makes gas more expensive in the summer than it is in the winter.
 
Seasonal blends aside, Flynn thinks pump prices are going lower.
 
"You're going to see more significant downside pressure on gasoline; there's a good chance we could test $3 a gallon on a national average pretty soon," he predicts. This would be nearly a 20% drop from the current price level.
 
Flynn gives a good list of reasons he expects a continued drop but, regardless of how we get there, lower gas prices are "exactly what we need right now with the economy struggling." It's a welcomed boost to the economy amid uncertainty here and abroad.
 
Whether $3 a gallon gas can save the moribund U.S. economy remains to be seen, but as we head towards peak driving season, many Americans should welcome the relief.
 
Are high gas prices impacting your travel and spending? Let us know in the comment section below or visit us on Facebook.

Anyone heard what Lindsey Williams is saying now?

Lindsey may have been on the money about his 2008 predictions(which is when he caught everyone's attention over gas prices skyrocketing, and then that same year plummeting), however, it's now become pretty obvious he's an "opposition controlled" enemy.

For the most part, especially during these 3+ years Obama's been in office, alot of what he has said has been suspect - for example, numerous times he's said how Obama "stepped over his boundary" against the "elite", and how this has gotten the elite "angry" at him. Uuuuhhh...just think about it for a sec - Obama is probably the most wicked President we've ever had, but nonetheless he IS nothing more than a puppet on a string controlled by his handlers. Obama is evil, but he ain't stupid, why? B/c there's that FAKE BIRTH CERTIFICATE hanging over his head, along with his homosexual activities, no evidence he was at Columbia univ, the list goes on. If Obama crosses the line against the Illuminati, they're not going to put a bullet in his head, b/c they already have enough ammunition to expose him.

IOW, the "truth movement leaders" have been doing nothing but playing into the Hegelian Dialectic alot like what the neocons, Catholic Church, and the "evangelical right" have been doing all along - put Obama as the "bad guy", and use war of words to infinity to get everyone to the center and compromise. It's not just Jones and Williams doing this, Rense, Quayle, Horn, and these other "truther" guys you hear on alternative media have been doing the same thing.

Anyhow - just wanted to point this out. As for what Williams has been saying lately, pretty much the same as usual. "Get out your pencil and paper and mark these events and dates...", then 15 minutes into what he's saying, it's as if he's having a conversation about the upcoming football game without getting to any of the points. And to boot, he keeps saying "The elite is pushing back its timeline".

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/2012-college-grads-enter-improving-job-market-130832284--finance.html

5/13/12

2012 college grads enter improving job market

NEW YORK (AP) — The class of 2012 is leaving college with something that many graduates since the start of the Great Recession have lacked: jobs.

To the relief of graduating seniors — and their anxious parents — the outlook is brighter than it has been in four years. Campus job fairs were packed this spring and more companies are hiring. Students aren't just finding good opportunities, some are weighing multiple offers.

In some ways, members of the class of 2012 got lucky. They arrived on campus in September 2008, the same month that Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, touching off a financial crisis that exacerbated the recession.

On campus, they were largely insulated from the collapsing U.S. economy. While older brothers and sisters graduated into a dismal job market, they took shelter in chemistry, philosophy and literature classes.

They used their college years to prepare for the brutal realities of the job market that would await them. They began networking for jobs much earlier, as freshmen in some cases. They pursued summer internships not simply as resume boosters, but as gateways to permanent jobs. And they developed more realistic expectations about landing a job in the ideal place and at the ideal salary.

On campuses across the country, spirits are more upbeat this spring, and the employment outlook is especially promising, according to interviews with three dozen seniors and career center directors.

"It's just been such a dramatic change from what we saw in 2008," says Mercy Eyadiel, who oversees career development at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. Back then, openings disappeared overnight and companies were calling recent graduates to rescind offers. "It was a very bad, ugly situation."

The job market remains tough, even for those graduating from the best universities. Hiring is not back to its pre-recession level and plenty of seniors are leaving campuses without jobs. Yet this year's graduates are less likely to face the disappointment of moving back in with mom and dad, or being forced to work at a coffee shop to pay off loans.

"I was nervous that my college degree would go to waste," says Laura Mascari, who arrived on the University of Delaware's Newark campus in the fall of 2008. Mascari, who received two job offers, will work in marketing — her major — for chemicals giant DuPont.

Between September 2008 and August 2010, 6.9 million American jobs were eliminated. In the last year and a half, 3.1 million jobs have been created. The strengthening job market has made a big difference to seniors who are job-hunting in their final semester.

The unemployment rate for college graduates 24 and under averaged 7.2 percent from January through April. That rate, which is not adjusted for seasonal factors, is down from the first four months of 2011 (9.1 percent), 2010 (8.1 percent) and 2009 (7.8 percent.) For all Americans, the unemployment rate is 8.1 percent.

Wake Forest senior Lesley Gustafson started her job search during her freshman year.

She met with a career counselor to discuss her goals. Gustafson picked a double-major — computer science and political science — that made her more marketable. And she found internships every summer that helped her build skills and a network of professionals to offer advice. Gustafson was aggressive in other ways, too: she took part in mock interviews offered by the campus career center so that she'd be better prepared for real employer interviews.

Gustafson's work paid off. In March, she was offered a job with consulting firm Accenture.

"I knew I would find something," Gustafson says. "I was more nervous finding something that I would be interested in rather than having to take a job just to take one."

College career centers across the country are reporting seeing more students and seeing them earlier.

At the University of Chicago, just 46 percent of freshman sought advice in the 2008-2009 school year. This year, it is expected to be more than 80 percent.

Students' expectations have also changed. That dream job might just be a dream. Seniors are instead focusing on stepping-stone positions that will hopefully lead to better opportunities.

Jonathan Fieweger, a senior at New York University, doesn't have a long-term job offer. But he was able to turn a public relations internship with TV network Showtime into a year-long, post-graduation job.

Others are willing to move to less desirable locations and settle for lower salaries. Pay for new graduates fell 10 percent during the recession, according to the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. Few expect it to climb back soon.

Despite the lower pay, students today have more confidence in the job market. Two years ago, career directors say, seniors were so afraid of the recession that they flocked to graduate schools to wait out the dark times.

"This is a generation of kids that got trophies whether they won or lost the soccer game," says Farouk Dey, director of career development at Carnegie Mellon University. "They were afraid of being rejected. What would that say about them? Would their parents be disappointed?"

That trend is reversing. The number of U.S. students taking admissions exams for graduate business school and law school are down 8 percent and 16 percent.

This year's grads also have an advantage over those a year or two out of school with equal qualifications. Employers would rather have somebody fresh out of college than somebody who spent two years working at a local book store waiting out the market.

"As a matter of convenience — and you can call it a bias if you will — a lot of employers have said: let's get started quickly by going back (to campus) and getting the new graduates," says Philip D. Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University. Companies cut their recruiting staff during the recession. Instead of sorting through thousands of resumes, it's easier to do targeted searches on a few campuses.

Gardner estimates that about 7 percent more college grads will find jobs this year than last year, based on a survey of 4,200 companies.

The recovery is not consistent across all majors. Students seeking jobs in architecture — hit hard by the collapse of the construction industry — are having a tougher time finding employment than those in education and health care, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education.

Colleges say the strongest growth in job offers has come from Fortune 500 companies, investment banks and consulting firms, all of whom make offers in the fall for jobs that don't start until the summer. Most smaller employers hire much closer to when an employee is needed. That means graduates won't get offers until late spring or summer. But college career directors say that, based on conversations with employers, it will be a strong year.

At Florida State University in Tallahassee, the number of job listings jumped from 1,379 last spring, to 2,299 this year. That is down from 5,000-plus listed before the recession.

At Arizona State University's Tempe campus, 1,698 companies have attended job fairs or interviewed on campus, up from 1,357 two years ago but below the roughly 2,000 that visited before the recession.

"We're about halfway back," says Matthew Brink, director of career services at the University of Delaware.

Packed career fairs and increased job listings don't necessarily translate into employment, warns Sheila Curran, a career consultant who used to run career centers at Duke University and Brown University. Companies might take the time to meet potential employees in case they start hiring again, but it doesn't mean they are going to make job offers.

Those seniors who do have offers say they treated their search like a full-time job and, after some setbacks, managed to secure employment.

Max Gompertz, a senior at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, with degrees in psychology and communication, knows how hard it can be. Many of his friends who graduated last year are still nearby, working in bars and restaurants. Gompertz, however, got an offer in the middle of October for a job he'll soon start providing customer support for financial data provider FactSet.

"I was lucky," he says. "The stars aligned."

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-government-ups-economic-outlook-014859619.html?l=1

5/17/12

Japan government ups economic outlook on consumption, exports

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government took a brighter view of the economy in a report on Friday, thanks to improvements in private consumption and exports, but it warned that Europe's debt crisis and financial market swings could worsen the outlook.

The upgrade, the first since August last year, comes one day after data showed Japan's economy grew faster than the United States, Germany and Britain in the first quarter as subsidies boosted sales of energy-efficient cars.

The more optimistic assessment also acknowledged the economic impact of reconstruction work after a record earthquake devastated Japan's northeast coast in March 2011.

The government lifted its assessment of personal consumption and exports as salaries are slowly rising and exports to the United States and Asia increase.

"The effects of the earthquake have been harsh, but there is reconstruction demand and the economy is slowly recovering," the Cabinet Office said in its monthly economic report for May.

more
 ::)

The Top 50 Excuses For Not Prepping

With the way that things are heading in this country, it is not surprising that there are approximately 3 million preppers in the United States today.  What is surprising is that there are not more people prepping. The economy is rapidly falling to pieces, the national debt is absolutely soaring, the earth is becoming increasingly unstable, a major war could erupt in the Middle East at any time and the fabric of our society is coming apart right in front of our eyes.  We have become incredibly dependent on technology and we have become incredibly dependent on our economic system.  If a major natural disaster, a killer pandemic, an EMP attack or the imposition of martial law caused a significant transportation disruption, America would literally change overnight.  We live during a time of tremendous global instability, and yet most people still see no need to start prepping at all.  Most people just continue to have blind faith in our leaders and in our system.  But what happens if our leaders fail us?  What happens if our system collapses?  What are they going to do then?

The number of preppers in the United States today is steadily increasing, but the vast majority of people out there still see no reason to start getting ready for "the end of the world as we know it".  Most people just assume that things will always somehow get better or that they will somehow be immune to whatever calamities are heading our way.  Most people always seem to have a "good excuse" for why they do not need to prepare.

The following are the top 50 excuses for not prepping....

1. "The U.S. Economy Is The Greatest Economy On The Planet - There Is No Way That It Could Ever Collapse"

2. "Once Barack Obama Wins The Election Everything Will Be Better"

3. "Once Mitt Romney Wins The Election Everything Will Be Better"

4. "When Things Get Really Bad The Government Will Take Care Of Us"

5. "When Disaster Strikes I Will Just Steal From Everyone Else That Has Been Busy Preparing"

6. "The Rapture Will Be At Any Moment So I Don't Have To Worry About Prepping"

7. "The Economy Has Always Recovered After Every Recession In The Past And This Time Will Be No Different"

8. "The People That Are Running Things Are Very Highly Educated And They Know Exactly What They Are Doing"

9. "Wal-Mart Will Always Be There"

10. "Our Politicians Are Watching Out For Our Best Interests"

11. "The 2012 Apocalypse Is Almost Here And We Are All Doomed Anyway - So Why Even Try?"

12. "Preppers Do Not Have A Positive Mental Attitude"

13. "If An Economic Collapse Comes I Will Just Go On Welfare"

14. "There Are Some Things You Just Can't Prepare For"

15. "Prepping Is Too Expensive"

16. "We Are Not Like Other Countries - U.S. Cities Are Designed To Withstand Major Earthquakes"

17. "I Need To Save Up For Retirement Instead"

18. "The Stock Market Has Been Soaring So Why Worry?"

19. "I Don't Have Room To Store Anything"

20. "Prepping Is For Crazy People"

21. "I Don't Believe In Conspiracy Theories"

22. "All The Food I Store Is Going To Go Bad"

23. "I Would Rather Spend My Time Watching American Idol"

24. "All The People Who Freaked Out About Y2K Look Really Foolish Now, Don't They?"

25. "I Don't Want To Look Like Those Idiots On 'Doomsday Preppers'"

26. "An EMP Attack Could Never Happen"

27. "There Will Never Be A Nationwide Transportation Disruption In The United States"

28. "Instead Of Being So Paranoid, I Would Rather Just Enjoy Life"

29. "If Society Falls Apart I Wouldn't Want To Continue To Live Anyway"

30. "There Will Never Be Another World War"

31. "I'm Too Lazy To Grow A Garden"

32. "If You Assume The Worst Is Going To Happen Then You Don't Believe In America"

33. "Deficits Don't Matter"

34. "I'll Always Be Able To Get A Job In My Field"

35. "If There Is A Financial Collapse All Of My Debts Will Be Wiped Out So I Might As Well Live It Up Now"

36. "If Things Hit The Fan I Will Just Go Move In With My Relatives Who Have Been Busy Prepping"

37. "Those That Believe That There Will Be Massive Riots In American Cities Someday Are Just Being Delusional"

38. "My Spouse Would Think That I Have Finally Lost It"

39. "I Don't Know Where To Start"

40. "I'll Just Deal With Problems As They Arrive"

41. "I Don't Have To Prepare For A Natural Disaster - That Is What FEMA Is For"

42. "We'll Never See Martial Law In The United States"

43. "I Don't Want To Scare My Children"

44. "Once I Get Rid Of All My Debt Then I Will Start Thinking About Prepping"

45. "My Relatives Already Think That I Am A Nut Job - I Don't Need To Make It Any Worse"

46. "If People At Work Find Out That I Am Prepping It Could Hurt My Career"

47. "If There Really Was A Good Reason To Prepare They Would Tell Us About It On The News"

48. "People Have Been Predicting Doom And Gloom For Years And It Hasn't Happened Yet"

49. "The United States Is The Greatest Nation On Earth - There Is No Way That It Could Collapse"

50. "I Don't Plan On Becoming A Card Carrying Member Of The Tin Foil Hat Brigade"

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-top-50-excuses-for-not-prepping

#51 - But I give at least 10% tithe to my church, so there's no way nothing bad can happen to me as God will protect my finances.

#52 - Church membership is really growing at my church, so the blessings are continuing to grow.

#53 - I don't like Obama, but he isn't as bad as we thought he would be, so this country isn't in bad shape.

The REAL #1 excuse...(the only one that is valid)

1) I'm born again, and Jesus told me to "take no thought for the morrow".

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-drops-below-90-1st-161651533.html

5/23/12

Oil drops below $90 for 1st time since Nov. 1

Oil price falls to lowest level since Nov. 1 as US supplies continue to grow

NEW YORK (AP) -- The price of oil tumbled below $90 on Wednesday for the first time in nearly seven months as U.S. supplies continue to grow.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell $2.14, or 2.3 percent, to $89.71 per barrel. The price hadn't been below $90 per barrel since Nov. 1.

The government said U.S. oil supplies grew last week by 900,000 barrels and hit the highest level since 1990. Analysts expected supplies to grow by 750,000 barrels.

The price of oil and other commodities tend to fall as more supplies become available.

Concern about the strength of the global economy, particularly Europe, also contributed to Wednesday's decline and is a large reason that oil has plunged nearly 15 percent in May. Analysts are predicting the European economy will continue to slow. Meanwhile, China's government is mulling steps to reverse a slowdown in the Chinese economy. In the U.S., the pace of hiring has tailed off.

Tensions with Iran drove up oil prices earlier this year as traders prepared for a disruption to supplies from OPEC's second-largest producer. Now, analysts say Iran may be allowed to keep exporting oil this year as it negotiates with the West and allays concerns about its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has been delivering more oil to world markets.

Pump prices in the U.S. have followed oil lower. Retail U.S. gasoline prices were flat at $3.678 per gallon on Wednesday, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. The nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded has dropped by 25.8 cents since peaking in the first week of April. Gasoline is 16.5 cents per gallon cheaper than it was the same time last year.

In other futures trading, heating oil fell by 4.14 cents to $2.82 per gallon while wholesale gasoline lost 5.1 cents to $2.886 per gallon. Natural gas added 0.7 cent to $2.714 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Brent crude, which helps set the price of oil imported into the U.S., dropped to a new low for the year. It lost $2.64 to $105.77 per barrel in London.

Airlines stand to reap fuel-cost windfall - Cheaper oil, higher fares point to a strong summer
22 May 2012, San Francisco (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/airlines-stand-to-reap-fuel-cost-windfall-2012-05-23

Excerpt:

Given the rash of headlines about pilot meltdowns, usurious baggage fees and toddlers popping up on TSA no-fly lists, you’d think the airline industry is spiraling into another vicious crisis cycle.

Not entirely. Despite a barrage of negative publicity, most airlines are doing fine.

And with oil prices tumbling Wednesday below $90 a barrel in New York for the first time in seven months, their prospects just got a little brighter.

Fuel has long been one of the industry’s biggest costs, typically second only to personnel outlays.

So just as the industry gears up for peak summer travel, the commodities market is handing over a timely windfall.

July crude-oil futures in New York closed at $89.91 a barrel Wednesday, topping off a stunning 14% retreat in less than a month.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-debt-load-falling-fastest-040045522.html

U.S. debt load falling at fastest pace since 1950s
By Rex Nutting | MarketWatch – 10 hours ago

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Everyone knows America has too much debt. What they don’t know is that things are getting better, not worse. ::)

Little by little, our economy is reducing its debt burden, slowly repairing the damage caused by 10, 20 or 30 years of excess.

more

http://www.businessinsider.com/euro-open-june-10-2012-6

6/10/12

The Weekend Is Over, And The Euro Surges To its Highest Level In Weeks

 ??? ???

(http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4fd50ce76bb3f75171000005/image.png)

DOW is UP some 220 points AFTER Obamacare gets upheld? Weren't there many investors in the stock market b/c it was all but certain it would get overturned ??? And now somehow the DOW went UP ::)

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=^DJI

http://news.yahoo.com/first-since-52-no-talk-war-gop-speech-174428737--election.html

8/31/12

First since '52: No talk of war in GOP speech
By MATT APUZZO | Associated Press – 1 hr 47 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — With America embroiled in its longest armed conflict, Mitt Romney became the first Republican since 1952 to accept his party's nomination without mentioning war.

Three election cycles after the 2001 terrorist attacks, neither Romney nor his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, had anything to say about terrorism or war while on his party's biggest stage Thursday. The only one who did was actor Clint Eastwood, who won cheers for suggesting invading Afghanistan was a mistake and calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops — a line that might have earned boos and catcalls four years ago.

The Romney strategy reflects the weak public support for the Afghanistan war, fatigue over a decade of terrorism fears and the central role of the economy in the campaign. But it was still a remarkable shift in tone for a party that, even in times of peace, has used the specter of war to call for greater military spending and tough foreign policy.

Candidates Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon criticized the handling of the Vietnam War. Bob Dole said the way to prevent conflict is to prepare for more, greater wars than a country will need to fight. Ronald Reagan warned that a weak nation would tempt the Soviet Union.

more

Wow...a weak jobs data today and the market keeps going up? Not just today, but it's been that way for awhile now. ::)

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=^DJI

13,306.64 14.64(0.11%) 4:01PM EDT

http://news.yahoo.com/report-americans-feel-more-confident-economy-224403827.html

9/25/12

 ??? :-\

Report: Americans feel more confident in economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are more confident in the economy than they have been in seven months, an encouraging sign for President Barack Obama with six weeks left in the presidential race.

A new survey of consumer confidence rose Tuesday to its highest level since February on expectations that hiring will soon pick up. And a separate report showed home values rising steadily, signaling sustained improvement in housing.

"This is like an opinion poll on the economy without the political parties attached," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics, a consulting firm. The confidence survey "says people are feeling better. If so, they are less likely to vote for change."

The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence shot up in September. The jump surprised many economists because the most recent hiring and retail sales figures have been sluggish.

The increased confidence could help explain recent polls that show Obama with a widening lead over Mitt Romney in some battleground states.

The consumer confidence index is closely watched because consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity. The index jumped from 61.3 for August to 70.3 for September. It remains well below 90, the level that is thought to signify a healthy economy.

Among those feeling more optimistic about the economy is Darlene Johnson of Silver Spring, Md., who works for the National Institutes of Health. The value of Johnson's 401(k) account has risen. Home sales in her neighborhood have ticked up, too, and are commanding higher prices.

"I feel like things are stabilizing," she said. "I don't feel as uneasy as I did a few months ago."

But Johnson, who voted for Obama in 2008, remains undecided on which candidate to back. And she's still a bit nervous about the future.

"It will depend on how my pockets are looking," she says. "Everyday circumstances will drive my decision on how I am going to vote."

Economists point to some key reasons why consumers have grown more confident.

Stocks are up: The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index has surged nearly 15 percent this year. Gas prices have leveled off after rising for several months. And the broad increase in home prices is likely giving would-be buyers more confidence. When prices rise, buyers don't worry so much that a home might lose value after they bought it.

National home prices rose 1.2 percent in July compared with a year ago, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday. That was the second straight month in which year-over-year home prices have increased.

Some economists question whether the higher level of confidence is sustainable. They've seen the index spike briefly before since the Great Recession ended more than three years ago. Some say confidence could be affected by negative campaign ads that focus on the economy.

But others note that even a weak economy doesn't feel so bad to many consumers once it begins to make steady improvement.

"The economy is perceived in relative rather than absolute terms," noted St. Louis University political scientist and pollster Ken Warren.

Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo, suggests that former President Bill Clinton might have helped boost confidence with his rousing speech on Obama's behalf at the Democratic National Convention in early September. The Conference Board's consumer confidence survey was conducted Sept. 1-13.

Clinton "rekindled memories of better economic times" and assured voters that the U.S. economy was on the right track, Vitner said.

The consumer confidence survey polled 500 people. The part of the survey that gauges consumers' confidence in the economy now and the part that gauges their outlook for the next six months both rose. Consumers were much more optimistic about the short-term outlook for business conditions, employment and their financial situation.

The rising home prices could also help Obama's prospects. Prices are rising in many large cities in swing states such as Florida, Colorado, Michigan and North Carolina. Prices have risen 3.6 percent in Tampa, Fla., in the past year, for example. And they're up 5.4 percent in Denver, 6.2 percent in Detroit and 2.2 percent in Charlotte, N.C.

A Washington Post poll out Tuesday showed Obama leading Romney among likely voters in Ohio, 52 to 44 percent. The president also had a slight edge in Florida, 51 to 47 percent among those most likely to vote.

Obama is also gaining the upper hand on which candidate is better able to handle the economy. Registered voters in Ohio preferred Obama on the economy by 50 percent to 43 percent, and in Florida by 49 percent to 45 percent.

^^

Uhm, don't think so - Fed pulls trigger[QE3]
http://endtimesandcurrentevents.freesmfhosting.com/index.php/topic,7297.0.html

 ::)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-jobless-rate-falls-7-123110106.html

US jobless rate falls to 7.8 pct., 44-month low

US unemployment rate falls to 7.8 pct., lowest since 2009, giving Obama a potential boost

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent last month, dropping below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years and giving President Barack Obama a potential boost with the election a month away.

The rate declined from 8.1 percent because the number of people who said they were employed soared by 873,000 — an encouraging sign for an economy that's been struggling to create enough jobs.

The number of unemployed Americans is now 12.1 million, the fewest since January 2009.

The Labor Department said employers added 114,000 jobs in September. It also said the economy created 86,000 more jobs in July and August than the department had initially estimated.

Wages rose in September. And more people started looking for work.

The revisions show employers added 146,000 jobs per month from July through September, up from 67,000 in the previous three months.

The 7.8 percent unemployment rate for September matches the rate in January 2009, when Obama took office. In the months after Obama's inauguration, the rate rose sharply and had topped 8 percent for 43 straight months.

The decline in the unemployment rate comes at a critical moment for Obama, who is coming off a weak debate performance this week against GOP challenger Mitt Romney.

The September employment report may be the last that might sway undecided voters. The October jobs report will be released only four days before Election Day.

"An overall better-than-expected jobs report, consistent with most recent data that suggest the economy is gaining some momentum," said Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, in a note to clients. "The sizeable drop in the unemployment rate could lift the president's re-election chances following a post-debate dip."

After the jobs report was released, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 65 points in the first half hour of trading. Broader stock indexes also rose.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed to 1.73 percent from 1.68 percent just before the report. That suggested that investors were more willing to take on risk and shift money from bonds into stocks.

The job market has been improving, sluggishly but steadily. Jobs have been added for 24 straight months. There are now 325,000 more than when Obama took office.

The number of employed Americans comes from a government survey of 60,000 households that determines the unemployment rate. The government asks a series of questions, by phone or in person. For example:

Do you own a business? Did you work for pay? If not, did you provide unpaid work for a family business or farm? (Those who did are considered employed.)

Afterward, the survey participants are asked whether they had a job and, if so, whether it was full or part time. The government's definition of unemployed is someone who's out of work and has actively looked for a job in the past four weeks.

The government also does a second survey of roughly 140,000 businesses to determine the number of jobs businesses created or lost.

The September job gains were led by the health care industry, which added 44,000 jobs — the most since February. Transportation and warehousing also showed large gains.

The revisions also showed that federal, state and local governments added 63,000 jobs in July and August, compared with earlier estimates that showed losses.

Still, many of the jobs the economy added last month were part time. The number of people with part-time jobs who wanted full-time work rose 7.5 percent to 8.6 million, the most since February 2009.

But overall, Friday's report dispelled some fears about the job market.

The "U.S. could be growing jobs at a marginally faster pace than feared mid-summer," Guy LeBas, a strategist at Janney Capital Markets, wrote in a research note. "Even with the issues in Europe and slowing production in China, U.S. economic activity does not look to be bearing the brunt of global downside, at least not anymore."
 

There is no way! 7.8 down from 8.1 in one month? I don't believe it. Especially when you consider the months, students are back in school so those extra jobs not filled, and they say the number went down? Lies I say.

And they announce a Bin Laden raid movie being released to theaters 2 days before the election! Now talk about staged! They have no shame.

 ::)

Private sector adds most jobs in 8 months in Oct
11/1/12
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/private-sector-added-158-000-122440980.html

Economy creates 171K more jobs, unemployment rate at 7.9%... ::)

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/economy-creates-more-jobs-expected-jobless-rate-edges-1C6828418

Economy creates more jobs than expected; jobless rate edges up

Hiring sped up in October, showing a labor market that picked up a bit of steam in the waning days of the presidential campaign. 

The Labor Department reported Friday that non-farm payrolls increased by 171,000 last month versus expectations of a 125,000 rise. The government also said 84,000 more jobs were created in August and September than initially estimated.

The unemployment rate was 7.9 percent, up slightly from the 7.8 percent reported in September.

The report comes just days before voters take to the polls to choose between incumbent President Barack Obama and his challenger, the Republican former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney.

The sluggish economy has been a bone of contention between the two candidates. Romney has made the nation's feeble jobs market, which has plagued Obama since he took office in 2009, the centerpiece of his campaign. The latest Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll showed Obama and Romney in a dead heat.

"Obviously, these are positive numbers. Overall, employment levels are still fairly low and this will keep us more or less at the same level. But it's favorable for the current administration ahead of the election," said Fabian Eliasson, vice president currency sales at Mizuho Corporate Bank in New York.

Still, the report could provide fodder for both candidates. The unemployment rate rose largely because 578,000 people entered the workforce. That helped push the participation rate, a measure of the portion of the population in the labor force, up two tenths of a point to 63.8 percent.


"Today's increase in the unemployment rate is a sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill," Romney said in a statement. The White House said the report shows an economy that is continuing to heal.

Barring a sharp acceleration in hiring, the report could reinforce the idea that a full recovery from the 2007-09 recession remains distant. The jobless rate, which peaked during the recession at 10 percent, remains about 3 percentage points above its pre-recession level.

The Labor Department said Superstorm Sandy had no effect on the employment and unemployment data for October.

Job gains in October were almost across the board, with the exception of government, where payrolls fell 13,000 after three months of increase. Temporary help jobs, often seen as a harbinger for permanent hiring, rebounded from two straight months of losses.

One shadow on the numbers: The slack in the labor market has weighed heavily on earnings growth. Average hourly earnings for all employees rose only one cent and the workweek was steady.

Over the past 12 months, hourly earnings for all workers are up just 1.6 percent, the lowest on records dating to early 2007. A measure with a longer track record that covers only production and non-supervisory employees was up only 1.1 percent -- the lowest on records dating to 1964

Reuters contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/november-consumer-confidence-hits-more-four-high-150403941--business.html

November consumer confidence hits more than four-year high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer confidence rose to a four-and-a-half-year high in November as consumers became more optimistic about the outlook for the economy, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes rose to 73.7 up from an upwardly revised 73.1 the month before, its highest since February 2008. Economists had expected a reading of 73.0, according to a Reuters poll.

October was originally reported as 72.2.

"Over the past few months, consumers have grown increasingly more upbeat about the current and expected state of the job market, and this turnaround in sentiment is helping to boost confidence," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.

more

What? Who in the world is this "The Conference Board" anyway?

Obviously a mouthpiece for bankers and government. There is no way no how "consumer confidence" is up! That's just a load of bull designed to attempt to force a sense of "confidence" on a people who know better. Banker propaganda. ::)

1   But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 
2   For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 
3   For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 
4   But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 
5   Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 
6   Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (KJB)

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/jobless-rate-drops-4-year-low-economy-creates-146-000-1C7488578

The U.S. economy generated a stronger-than-expected 146,000 jobs in November, helping to trim the jobless rate to 7.7 percent, a four year low, the government reported Friday.

http://news.yahoo.com/dow-closes-highest-level-nears-record-214122055--finance.html

2/12/13

Dow closes at highest level of year, nears record

NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow rose to its highest close of the year, putting it within 1 percent of its record. Stocks gained after impressive results from two big consumer brands.
 
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 47.46 to 14,018.70 Tuesday. That is 146 points from its record close of 14,164.53 set in October 2007. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 2.42 points to 1,519.43, also close to its record.
 
In a quiet day of trade, stocks were driven higher by beauty products maker Avon and luxury clothing and accessories company Michael Kors, whose results impressed investors. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity in the U.S.
 
Financial and home building stocks also lifted stocks, led by Bank of America and Masco Corp, which notched some of the day's biggest gains.
 
The Dow has surged at the start of the year, logging its best January in almost two decades, after lawmakers reached a last-minute deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of sweeping tax increases and spending cuts. Investors are also becoming more optimistic that the housing market is recovering and that hiring is picking up.

more

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/02/dow-inches-closer-to-all-time-high/

Dow Inches Closer to All-Time High

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 175 points on Wednesday, less than 1 percent from its all-time high set in October 2007 and the closest it has been to that high in more than five years.
 
The Dow closed up 1.3 percent to 14,075 at the close of New York trading, its highest close so far this year.
 
Positive economic data out of the in the U.S. and Europe appeared to boost markets today.
 
The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes rose to the highest level since April 2010.  The increase pointed to more home sales in the coming months.
 
Orders for factory goods grew by the most in more than a year, suggesting that companies are confident enough to invest some of their cash.
 
An Italian bond auction went better than expected despite the political chaos there after an inconclusive election earlier in the week failed to give any of Italy’s major political parties enough votes to form a government.
 
Finally, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in a second day of Congressional testimony, reassured investors that the Fed will not abruptly end its economic stimulus.

http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=0ef29336-7f06-4d11-909f-054ec777a092

3/5/13
Dow surges to new highs

The blue chips move above their October 2007 peaks, with the entire market participating. The Dow has more than doubled since its 2009 bottom.

Almost three years after its 2009 bottom, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU +1.10%) pushed past both its 2007 closing high and its all-time intraday high on Tuesday.

The blue chips topped the old closing high of 14,164.53 right after Tuesday's open and then blasted through its all-time intraday high of 14,198.10. By 12:17 p.m. ET, the Dow was at 14,265, a gain of 137 points.

The rally's catalysts were strength in Asian and European markets after decent economic news from China. In addition, a report on the growth in the U.S. non-manufacturing economy was better than expected.

more

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-creep-dow-rises-seventh-day-running-203317278--finance.html
3/11/13
Stocks creep up; Dow rises for seventh day running

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market crept higher Monday, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to its seventh straight day of gains.
 
Boeing was the Dow's top stock, surging 2 percent. A Boeing executive reportedly said he's confident the aircraft maker has figured out a fix for the battery problems that have grounded the 787 Dreamliner.
 
The last time the Dow rose for seven consecutive days was March 2012. The latest streak began last Tuesday, when the blue-chip index blew past its all-time high, then kept climbing to end the week up 2 percent.
 
On Monday, the Dow rose 50.22 points to end the day at 14,447.29, an increase of 0.3 percent.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-12/nikkei-225-advances-ninth-day-on-weaker-yen-boj-minutes.html?cmpid=yhoo
3/11/13
Nikkei 225 Advances Ninth Day on Weaker Yen, BOJ Minutes

Japanese shares rose, with the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average poised for its longest winning streak since July 2009, as the yen fell and a nominee for Bank of Japan (8301) deputy governor said decisive monetary easing is needed.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-12/australia-n-z-dollars-touch-4-year-high-against-yen.html?cmpid=yhoo
3/11/13
Australia, N.Z. Dollars Touch 4-Year High Against Yen

The Australian and New Zealand dollars reached the highest levels in more than four years versus the yen amid speculation the Bank of Japan (8301) will expand monetary easing, boosting the allure of higher-yielding assets. The so-called Aussie was supported as investors pared bets the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates next month. The nation’s bonds dropped, sending the 10-year yield to a 10-month high after shares in New York advanced. The New Zealand dollar declined against the greenback before U.S. data forecast to show an increase in retail sales. Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda said yesterday the BOJ will consider buying derivatives if he’s confirmed as governor.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asia-stocks-brighten-as-japan-climbs-again-2013-03-11?siteid=yhoof2
3/11/13
Asia stocks brighten, as Japan climbs again
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Japanese stocks once led gains for the region Tuesday amid a mildly positive session overall for Asia. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average /quotes/zigman/5986735 JP:100000018 +0.62%  climbed 0.8%, adding to a 9.7% advance over the previous eight sessions. Should Tokyo seal a ninth straight session of gains, it would match the market’s last nine-session run made in July 2009.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/03/12/can-anything-hold-down-the-dow.aspx
3/12/13
Can Anything Hold Down the Dow?

Though the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) remained in the red for the majority of the trading session, it still managed to fight its way into the black just prior to the closing bell. The Dow closed at 14,450, marking another record-breaking close, after it gained 2.77 points. After just barely closing up, this index of blue-chip stocks managed to continue its now eight-day winning streak.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/03/13/dow-notches-longest-win-streak-since.aspx
3/13/13
Dow Notches Longest Win Streak Since 1996

For the second day in a row, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) finished essentially unchanged, moving up 5 points, or 0.04%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also scored minor gains in trading today.
 
Today's major economic news was a seemingly strong February retail sales report, which showed that sales at the consumer level increased 1.1% last month. Economists had expected an increase of just 0.5%, but much of those additional gains came because of higher gas prices, and since that spending ultimately leaves the domestic economy, it doesn't have the same boost as discretionary spending. Still, analysts considered it a relatively strong report, confirming that the recovery is still on track.

more

http://money.msn.com/investing/latest.aspx?post=070c8fd6-db4b-4baf-9e94-e812738a8684
Dow tops 14,500 for 1st time; S&P also nears record
3/14/13

Wall Street rose again Thursday and the Dow extended its recent winning streak to 10 days in early trading, topping the key 14,500 mark for the first time ever, after data showed the labor market recovery is gaining traction.

The broader S&P 500 was also closing in on its all-time high in the wake of new record levels for the Dow. The S&P is roughly 5 points from its closing peak of 1,565.15, set in October 2007.

A 10-day run of advances for the Dow would match a string of gains last seen in late 1996. U.S. equities have accelerated since the start of the year, boosted by improvement in the economy and continued easy monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

"You don't string together more than eight or nine days very often," said Jack De Gan, chief investment officer at Harbor Advisory Corp in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

more

http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=f190c19c-4858-4a5c-827a-c07f4aa12d74
3/26/13
Dow sets a new high; S&P 500 just misses

A late-day surge pushes stocks solidly higher, but the S&P 500 again stalls before its all-time high of 1,615. Health care and energy shares lead the rally.

For the second time in two days, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX +0.78%) just missed setting a new high. But not to worry. The Dow Jones industrials ($INDU +0.77%) did march to a new high.

The market overall rallied into Tuesday's close, with the Dow moving up 112 points to 14,560, breaking a record set March 14.

The S&P 500 closed up 12 points to 1,563.77. That was about 1.4 points below the index's Oct. 9, 2007, closing peak of 1,565.15. The index came within a quarter-point of that level on Monday but fell back on worries about Europe.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/why-gay-marriage-good-economy-132309024.html#more-id
3/27/13
How Gay Marriage Impacts the Economy

The United States Supreme Court is set to conclude its hearings on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage today. On Tuesday the court heard arguments in favor of and against Proposition 8, the California same-sex marriage ban. Today the justices will consider the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed by President Clinton in 1996 and defines marriage as between one man and one woman, denying same-sex couples federal benefits.

From an economic perspective, many favor the idea of marriage equality. If same-sex marriage was legalized, both the wedding and divorce industry could receive a $9.5 billion boost from the nearly 800,000 same-sex couples currently living together. Municipalities would increase revenue because of wedding licensing fees; New York City received a reported $250 million in revenue after lifting their ban on gay marriage. Companies like Tiffany’s (TIF), Marriot (MAR), and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) are just some that would feel the impact of this boom.

But business in general benefits from same-sex marriage, argues John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management-U.S.

“Companies who create an environment where employees are free to be authentically and completely who they are have more engaged employees and that translates into client and customer satisfaction,” says Taft. “I can tell you that if you do not extend benefits to same-sex partnerships, you are not competitive in the business world right now. The bottom line for excluding that population set from your benefit policy is going to be compromised not helped.”

Many business leaders have come out in support of same-sex marriage.

Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz made headlines just this week when a shareholder questioned whether the company’s support of marriage equality was hurting its bottom line. “If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38% you got last year, it’s a free country,” Shultz replied. “You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much.”

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs (GS), recorded a commercial supporting marriage equality last year stating. “America's corporations learned long ago that equality is just good business and is the right thing to do,” he said in the ad.

“The economic benefits of same-sex marriage have been recognized by businesses around the country for years,” Taft says. “In many ways the corporate community is ahead of where we are socially because the largest corporations in the United States already recognize partnerships and same-sex marriages in their humans rights and benefits policies.”

The Supreme Court is expected to release its rulings on DOMA and Prop 8 this summer.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/restaurant-chains-cut-estimates-health-235200077.html
Restaurant Chains Cut Estimates for Health-Law Costs
3/27/13

Restaurant owners have been fierce critics of the health-care overhaul law, fearing that its mandate for employers to offer insurance more broadly will drive up costs and deter hiring.

Now, some operators say the law may not be that costly after all. They say many employees won't qualify for coverage, and many of those who do qualify will decline company-offered insurance.

Wendy's Co. (WEN) initially estimated the health-care law would increase the cost of operating each of its 5,800 U.S. restaurants by $25,000 a year. But Chief Financial Officer Steve Hare told an investment conference on March 14 that executives have cut the estimate by 80%, to $5,000 a year, primarily because they expect many employees to decline the insurance offering.

"It is still going to be an additional cost that both the company and our franchisees will have to absorb, but we think it is going to be manageable," Mr. Hare said. A Wendy's spokesman said the company continues to refine its cost estimates and it would be "premature" to discuss them further.

Executives of other restaurant chains, including Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG), Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK) and Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen, have offered similar cost estimates in recent months.

They say many employees will decline company-offered insurance, either because they can get insurance through Medicaid or a family member, or because they prefer to pay the penalty for not having health insurance. The penalty next year will be as low as $95 next year, much less than most employees will be asked to pay through company-sponsored insurance plans.

The comments suggest that some people may fall through the cracks in the law and remain uninsured, at least for a time.

AFC Enterprises Inc. (AFCE), operator of the Popeye's chain, is among the employers that has few takers for its current plan. Ralph Bower, Popeye's president-U.S., said in an interview that fewer than 5% of employees have signed up for a plan that carries high deductibles and costs $2.50 a week. So he doesn't expect many more employees to enroll next year, when employees likely will have to pay about $25 a week for a plan offering more coverage.

"It's just not affordable for employees," Mr. Bower said.

Instead of buying insurance, Mr. Bower expects many employees will choose to pay the $95-a-year fine for being uninsured. "Do you want to pay $100 a month for health care, or are you going to pay a $95 fine that comes out of your income-tax return at the end of the year?" he said.

"We believe most people do want the security provided by quality, affordable health insurance," said Erin Shields, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. When Massachusetts adopted a similar health-care law, she said, the percentage of people enrolled in employer-sponsored insurance increased.

more

They can afford it because like they say, no employee will even be able to afford the insurance, as planned. So guess what? The government gets the penalty money for no insurance instead of the insurers getting a premium payment.

So, effectively, the feds have managed to get a new tax passed that isn't a tax!

Someone brought this to my attention just now...

Not sure how long it's been on there, but look what's on the front of this link of the United Nations website!
http://www.un.org/en/peace/

 ???

The banner at the top of the link on that part of the UN site says "Peace and Security". Like said, maybe it means nothing, but nonetheless it was over on another message forum where someone brought this to everyone's attention, so I assumed the UN put it on there recently.

Speaking of "Peace and Safety", I've been hearing this buzzphrase quite a bit in recent years.

Stocks surge in early trading after hiring climbs
5/3/13
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20130503&id=16435605

NEW YORK (AP) - A big gain in the job market is lifting the stock market to a record high.

The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 15,000 for the first time, and the Standard and Poor's 500 index, a broader market measure, rose above 1,600.

In the first hour of trading Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 173 points to 15,004, a gain of 1.2 percent.

The S&P 500 index surged 20 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,618. It has been thirteen years since the broad stock-market index broke through 1,500.

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http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20130507&id=16298362&
5/7/13
Dow marks first close above 15,000, S&P ends at record

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow closed above 15,000 for the first time on Tuesday and the S&P 500 ended at another record high, extending the market's rally as more investors rushed to join the party and German industrial data beat expectations.

It was the fourth straight record close for the S&P 500. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 hit intraday record highs as well.

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NIKKEI 15,000! First Time Since January 2008
5/14/13

Markets just opened in Asia, and they're following the U.S. markets way higher.

Of note is Japan's Nikkei 225, which just burst through 15,000.

Dow Jones reports this is the first time the Nikkei has been above 15,000 since January 4, 2008.

Leading the way is electronics maker Sony, which is up by around 12%.  Hedge fund heavy hitter Dan Loeb made a proposal to management to split up the company.  Loeb said he was willing to commit a significant amount of capital to support the IPO of Sony's entertainment division.

On Tuesday morning, markets were in the red.  But they quickly turned around at just before 8:00 AM ET.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nikkei-15000-first-time-since-january-2008-2013-5#ixzz2TKQInAga

http://news.yahoo.com/rising-revenues-shrink-deficit-rapidly-2015-cbo-010337702.html
5/14/13
Rising revenues to shrink deficit rapidly through 2015: CBO

By David Lawder and Labib Nasir

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deficit is shrinking considerably more quickly than previously thought, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday in a report that could sap Congress' sense of urgency to find further budget savings.

In one fell swoop, the non-partisan budget referee slashed its deficit forecast for the current fiscal year by $203 billion from estimates made in February to $642 billion - making it the smallest budget shortfall since 2008.

The CBO said the deficit will fall to $378 billion by 2015 with no congressional action - a sharp contrast to the $1 trillion recession-driven deficits in each of President Barack Obama's first four years in office.

The revisions are driven largely by rising tax revenue from individuals and corporations as the economy sputters back to life. They also reflect stronger contributions to U.S. Treasury coffers from government-run mortgage finance groups Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"Because revenues, under current law, are projected to rise more rapidly than spending in the next two years, deficits in CBO's baseline projections continue to shrink, falling to 2.1 percent of GDP by 2015," the CBO said in its report.

That level is considered easily sustainable by budget analysts, who said the report will blunt Republican arguments that rising federal debt levels will soon crush the economy.

"I would say that removes any sense of crisis, and the risk is that Washington starts to get complacent," said Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Potomac Research Group, an investment advisory firm in Washington. "It does change the psychology in this town."

Representative Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, took the opportunity to argue against further deep spending cuts.

"We must avoid austerity measures that would slow job growth in the short term as we also work to reduce the long-term deficit in a balanced way," he said in a statement.

The deficit debate has already faded in Washington's consciousness in recent weeks amid brighter economic news and rising government receipts. An anticipated summer fiscal showdown between Democrats and Republicans over raising the debt limit continues to slip, and the CBO said in the report that the Treasury now may be able to go without an increase until November.

On Wednesday, the majority House Republicans are expected to meet to plot strategy on how best to approach the debt limit in light of the improving deficit picture.

'UNSUSTAINABLE PATH'

Senator Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, called the improvement temporary, saying deficits would start a "relentless rise" after 2015 due to the rising costs of programs to care for an aging population.

"This is the definition of an unsustainable path. We remain on a course that will lead to fiscal crisis, as expert after expert has warned us," Sessions said.

But even as the data was released, Capitol Hill was more consumed with a widening scandal surrounding the Internal Revenue Service focusing its scrutiny on conservative non-profit groups.

The revised CBO estimates, like those issued in February, are based on current tax and spending laws and assume that $1.2 trillion in automatic "sequester" spending cuts that began on March 1 remain in place for the next decade.

The CBO estimated a $95 billion increase in payments to the Treasury this year from the two mortgage funding companies, which were seized by the government in 2008 to save them from collapse. It also reduced its 10-year estimates for Medicare and Medicaid healthcare spending by a net $162 billion, which largely reflect the continuation of a trend of slower healthcare cost growth.

But CBO acknowledged that some of the deficit gains are due to temporary factors, such as high-income individuals taking more capital gains in 2012 to beat a tax increase this year, which added to tax collections this spring.

Indeed, the deficit reductions do not continue at the same pace over the full decade. Deficits still rise later in the decade, reaching $895 billion by 2023. And the government still racks up a cumulative deficit of $6.34 trillion over the next decade, although this is $618 billion lower than the CBO's previous forecast.

Debt held by the public is expected to stay above 70 percent of GDP, the CBO said, far higher than in previous decades. As recently as 2007, federal debt equaled 36 percent of GDP.

(Reporting by David Lawder and Labib Nasir; Editing by G Crosse, Dan Grebler, Jan Paschal and Eric Beech)

http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20130528&id=16526350
5/28/13
Dow ends at record as central banks reassure Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow closing at yet another record high, in the wake of Wall Street's first three-day losing streak of the year, after central banks reassured investors that they will keep policies designed to foster global growth.

Consumer confidence was the strongest in May in over five years, while home prices accelerated in March by the most in nearly seven years. The reports showed the U.S. economy's resilience despite the pinch of belt-tightening from automatic cuts in federal spending.

Equity investors have been very attuned to monetary policy, with the major U.S. stock indexes last week posting their first negative week since mid-April on lingering concerns that the Federal Reserve may scale back its stimulus measures sooner than expected.

more

http://news.yahoo.com/senate-immigration-bill-aid-economy-budget-office-says-001349224.html
6/18/13
Senate immigration bill to aid economy, budget office says

By Thomas Ferraro and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House-backed bill to overhaul the U.S. immigration system got a boost on Tuesday when the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that the measure would cut federal budget deficits and boost the U.S. economy.

The CBO analysis came as the Senate fended off amendments by the bill's opponents that would have delayed for an unspecified amount of time provisions to legalize up to 11 million undocumented immigrants and allow them to gain citizenship within 13 years.

But House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner raised new doubts about the bill's prospect in his chamber, where many Republicans oppose the "pathway to citizenship" for illegal immigrants that President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats have made a central feature of the sweeping measure.

The bill could pass the Democratic-led Senate by the end of this month.

According to the CBO, which assesses the cost and economic impact of legislation pending in Congress, the Senate bill would "boost economic output" and significantly reduce federal budget deficits over the next 20 years.

The White House embraced the CBO analysis, which was a rare bit of upbeat news after recent scandals over Internal Revenue Service handling of conservative groups' requests for tax-exempt status and disclosures of widespread government surveillance of telephone and Internet records.

"The Congressional Budget Office ... made clear that passage of the immigration bill would not only reduce the deficit, it would increase economic growth for years to come," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.

One outspoken critic of the Senate immigration bill, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, attacked the CBO findings, however, saying they failed to take into account longer-term costs related to the 11 million becoming legal residents and eventually qualifying for "Medicaid, food stamps and cash welfare."

BOEHNER SURPRISE

Boehner made a surprise announcement on Tuesday when he told reporters he would only allow consideration of immigration bills backed by most of the 234 Republicans in the 435-member chamber.

"I don't see any way of bringing an immigration bill to the floor that doesn't have a majority support of Republicans," Boehner said after a closed-door meeting with his caucus.

Previously, Boehner had only said he would await Senate passage of a bill before deciding what course the House would take on an issue at the top of Obama's legislative agenda this year.

Many Democrats had hoped Boehner would advance a bill like the Senate's - one containing the pathway to citizenship - and that it could pass the House with the combined backing of most of the 201 House Democrats and some Republicans.

But the House Judiciary Committee worked on Tuesday not on pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants but on a Republican proposal to clamp down on them.

It would do so by allowing state and local law enforcement officers to get involved in immigration enforcement, an activity now conducted by federal agents. It would also let states and localities enact and enforce their own immigration laws, as long as they were consistent with federal laws.

"We can't just be fixated on securing the (Southwestern) border," Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said. He added that the Republican-backed bill would strengthen federal enforcement of immigration laws while ensuring "that where the federal government fails to act, states can pick up the slack."

Representative John Conyers, the senior Democrat on the committee, called the bill "extreme and heinous." He likened it to an Arizona state law he said had resulted in "widespread racial profiling and unconstitutional arrests."

Some Democrats said they were hopeful Boehner would back off his new requirement that any immigration bill be supported by a majority of House Republicans, just as he did in the past year on such issues as tax hikes on the wealthy, the U.S. debt limit, disaster relief and renewal of a landmark bill to curb domestic violence against women.

"Boehner is trying to maximize his leverage so he can get a bill that is as conservative as possible," one Democratic aide said.

SPLIT ON BORDER SECURITY

In the Senate, a split over how to strengthen border security has slowed action on the measure sponsored by a bipartisan "Gang of Eight."

Many Senate Republicans do not believe the bill's provisions to tighten security along the border with Mexico go far enough.

Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota said he and some fellow Republicans were making progress on a compromise amendment that could be unveiled as early as Wednesday to deal with border security.

Boehner echoed complaints by many Republicans about the Senate bill, saying he believed the measure "is weak on border security."

Once the Senate passes its bipartisan bill, there may be pressure on Boehner to bring it or a similar measure up for a vote in his chamber, even if most House Republicans oppose it.

"The political winds will be much different after the Senate passes its bill," the Democratic aide said, especially if there is an overwhelming bipartisan tally.

The Republican Party urged its members to embrace comprehensive immigration reform after last year's election, which saw 71 percent of Hispanics, members of the fast-growing voting bloc, support Obama's re-election.

(Additional reporting by David Lawder and Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Peter Cooney)

They really think the American public is stupid, don't they? Actually, I'm thinking they really don't care what the public thinks, and more and more they are being more and more indifferent to what the public will think. These people just toss out sound bites and move on, as though nobody is paying attention.

Jesus Christ says about the end times...

Luke 17:28  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luk 17:29  But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

1The 5:3  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Ezekiel 16:49  Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

 :-\

http://www.whbf.com/story/22665710/gay-marriage-boosts-ia-economy
Gay marriage boosts IA economy
Posted: Jun 23, 2013 5:49 PM CDT

Gay marriage has been a boon to Iowa's economy however some in the states tourism industry worry that money could soon dwindle, thanks to new competition.

Same sex marriage will be legal in Minnesota come August 1st.
And they are already rolling out the red carpet for gay couples in other states to visit and get hitched.

During four years as the only Midwestern state to offer same-sex marriage, Iowa has seen thousands of couples travel to the heartland for wedding celebrations that pumped millions of dollars into the state economy.

do you ever wonder why sodomy states come from bible belt states?

Is it b/c the divorce rate is the highest in these "bible belt" states? IOW, this is where this passage comes to play...

Mat 7:1  Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Ultimately, how can these "bible belt" states/evangelicals defend marriage when they themselves have trouble following it themselves?

Mat_5:31  It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Mat_5:32  But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Do you mean, ever wonder why states that oppose sodomy happen to be bible belt states?

If so, that's kind of obvious I would think.

Don't be surprised to see these propaganda stories over the economy increasing before the rapture...

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/us-economic-growth-pace-faster-expected-second-quarter-6C10803303?ocid=msnhp&pos=5
Economy expands at brisk pace in 2nd quarter, defying gloom
7/31/13

The U.S. economy isn't as feeble as economists thought it was.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.7 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, the government reported Wednesday. That's up from the 1.1 percent rate in the first quarter (revised downward from 1.8 percent) and much higher than forecasts of a 1.0 percent rise.

A rebound in business spending, export growth and a sharp moderation in the pace of decline in government outlays boosted economic growth in the April-June period, offsetting a slowdown in consumer spending and a steady rate of inventory accumulation.

Still, the report marked a third straight quarter of GDP growth below 2 percent, a pace that normally would be too soft to bring down unemployment. But growth was poised to gain even more momentum in the second half of the year as the fiscal burden brought on by belt-tightening in Washington eases.

http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post--sandp-500-dow-close-at-new-highs
S&P 500, Dow close at new highs
But the market is beginning to look overbought as oil prices and interest rates are on the move again. Google, Apple and Facebook boost the Nasdaq.

8/1/13

Arrow Up (© Image Source/Photolibrary)Let's all cheer for the stock market's performance Thursday -- because, as good as the rally was, the market is starting to look toppy.

Yes, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) topped 1,700 for the first time ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU +0.83%) finished at a new high, with its best daily performance in more than three weeks. Facebook (FB +1.87%)  traded above its $38 IPO price for much of the day, but faded in late trading. Yelp (YELP +23.21%) jumped 23%.

Fueling the rally were the Federal Reserve's signal on Wednesday, that it's not planning to push interest rates higher any time soon, and decent news Thursday on jobless claims and auto sales. In addition, the Institute for Supply Management's U.S. manufacturing index expanded at the fastest pace in two years in July, and China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index beat expectations.

But a number of technical and fundamental indicators are suggesting a short-term break is coming, including rising interest rates, oil prices and retail gasoline prices. Moreover, Thursday's good vibrations could dissipate if Friday's jobs report disappoints.

If a pullback materializes -- August can sometimes start one -- it's not clear if a slippage will turn into something worse. That probably will depend on two things: the economy and how the Federal Reserve reacts to it. 

The Dow closed up 128 points to 15,628 -- a new closing high. Its high of 15,650.69 was an intraday high.  The S&P 500 was up 21 points to 1,707, near its high for the day (and all-time intraday high) or 1,707.85. It's been flirting with the 1,700 level for nearly two weeks. Wednesday's high was 1,698.43.

The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX +1.36%) had jumped 49 points to 3,676, after hitting an intraday high of 3,674.13. Thursday's close was the best for the index since Sept. 28, 2000.

Thank Google (GOOG +1.86%), which topped $900 for the first time since July 24; Apple (AAPL +0.92%), up $2.78 to $455.31 and up 9% since its July 23 earnings report; and Facebook.

The rally was in fact quite broad: 24 of the 30 Dow stocks were higher, along with about 440 S&P 500 stocks and 86 stocks in the Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX +1.17%). The index was up 36 points to 3,126.

The consensus for Friday's job report is an unemployment rate of 7.6% in July, unchanged from June, and possibly 200,000 job gains.

Here are the headwinds that are building up:

Oil prices are rising.
Crude oil (-CL) in New York was up $2.64 to $107.67, its biggest percentage gain since July 10. Brent crude had gained $1.78 to $109.48. The 1.7% gain was the biggest since May 2.

Interest rates are higher.
The 10-year Treasury yield was at 2.695%, up from 2.593% on Wednesday and 1.6% in May. The Fed has said it plans to keep its key federal funds rate at ultra-low levels, but the bond market controls longer-term rates. When the Fed starts to taper -- or trim -- its monthly bond purchases, it's not clear how the bond market will react. A quick run-up in interest rates could stall a lot of economic activity.

Momentum indexes suggest stocks are nearing overbought levels.
The most important on Thursday was the MACD divergence line for the S&P 500. It dropped below zero on Thursday, typically a sell signal.
 
The headwinds are building, suggesting -- but not guaranteeing -- that a pullback is coming. 

The market rally overall was fueled by industrial, financial and consumer discretionary stocks. Natural gas producer Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD +12.53%) has been the big winner among S&P 500 stocks, up $20.29 to $175.15. It's as big player in natural gas production in shale regions. Chesapeake Energy (CHK +7.08%) was the third best performer.

American Express (AXP +2.52%) and Bank of America (BAC +2.40%) are the best performers among the 30 Dow stocks. Caterpillar (CAT +1.85%) and Boeing (BA +1.52%) were also higher. Exxon Mobil (XOM -1.09%) was the laggard, after reporting the worst quarterly profits since 2010.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/business/economy/second-quarter-gdp-revised-sharply-higher.html?partner=yahoofinance&_r=0
8/29/13
Second-Quarter G.D.P. Revised Sharply Higher

Government statisticians gave the American economy a lift Thursday when they sharply revised their calculation of the nation’s second-quarter growth to an annual rate of 2.5 percent, up from an initial estimate of 1.7 percent.

The new figure from the Commerce Department — more than double the 1.1 percent growth rate of the first quarter — is based on more complete data than was available last month.

An increase in exports of goods and services was larger than first measured, the department said, and the increase in imports was smaller. The new ratealso reflected a smaller decrease in federal government spending.

While a stronger economic recovery would be welcomed in many quarters, stock investors kept the market only modestly higher early Thursday after the figures were announced. A healthier economy, traders calculated, would lead the Federal Reserve to speed up its plan to tamp down its monetary stimulus program. Analysts had expected the rate to be revised to 2.2 percent.

Such large revisions in gross domestic product are not rare. The growth rate that the government announces about a month after the end of each quarter is based on incomplete figures and is followed by a second and third estimate at subsequent one-month intervals.

The first estimate has been off the mark by an average of 1.3 percentage points, compared with more fully analyzed figures released years later, over the period from 1983 to 2009, according to federal data.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/8-years-katrina-orleans-rebound-105657541.html
8 years after Katrina, New Orleans on the rebound

8 years after Katrina, a resurgent New Orleans bids to shake off reminders of the destruction
8/29/13

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Eight years after Hurricane Katrina, the Ferris wheel at the former Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans sits idle. "Closed for Storm" signs are still posted and the abandoned, weed-choked site remains a thorn in the side of officials leading one of the most extensive city-rebuilding projects in U.S. history.

Proposals to revitalize the 150-acre site in New Orleans have ranged from restoring it to a working amusement park to turning it into a retail mall. The land has been controlled by the city since 2009, when an agreement was struck with Six Flags Inc., for the tract. So far, the city hasn't been able to seal a development deal.

For New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, such eyesores are a lingering distraction from the enormous rebuilding effort that has followed since the day the levees broke under Katrina's fury on Aug. 29, 2005. Now optimism is rising as a rebounding city approaches the 300th anniversary of its 1718 founding.

"The city is a much better place than it was eight years ago. The biggest challenge we have is blight," Landrieu said, adding that 10,000 blighted properties have been removed from the cityscape.

A thriving downtown and newly vibrant neighborhoods contrast starkly with the city's appearance eight years ago. When Katrina hit, thousands of people who couldn't escape New Orleans in time were trapped in homes as levees broke and floodwaters rose. Helicopters plucked the desperate from rooftops as chaos spread. The damaged Superdome became a refuge of misery for thousands as temperatures and tempers soared.

Days afterward then-President George W. Bush promised the nation's full attention. But federal authorities were sharply criticized for their early response and local and state authorities as well. And though billions of federal dollars have helped to rebuild a strengthened levee system, many locals remain bitter with the Army Corps of Engineers for the failure of the levees.

Landrieu said he's intent on moving forward.

"I think that we have successfully done the most important thing, which was to think about building the city back the way she should have always been and not the way she was," he said.

Landrieu said rebuilding has even meant re-organizing government operations, streamlining finances, curbing waste and fraud and reorganizing the city's education system — even adding new fire and police stations, parks and libraries.

Gov. Bobby Jindal praised the progress, calling New Orleans "America's Comeback City," in a statement Wednesday night.

"Hurricane Katrina was a terrible and devastating storm that brought us to our knees, but it didn't shake our resolve," he said.

Landrieu said he planned to attend a ceremony Thursday at a cemetery for those who died. The hurricane was blamed for more than 1,800 deaths, mostly in the New Orleans area and along neighboring Mississippi's Gulf coast.

"We're going to commemorate the anniversary of Katrina by doing the thing that really is important, just remembering those that lost their lives," Landrieu said.

Despite somber memories, the city leaders are buoyed by new figures.

Information compiled by the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center shows about 80 percent of the pre-storm population has returned, retail outlets are reopening and new ones emerging. Investment in a major medical corridor and an influx of technology companies offer new hope for a city long dependent on tourism.

Direct damages have been estimated at about $108 billion, but the overall cost of rebuilding raises estimates as high as $150 billion. Katrina greatly topped the estimated $50 billion in damages caused by superstorm Sandy during its East Coast rampage in 2012, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Billions of dollars in federal aid has built a new and stronger flood protection system, adding pumps and more concrete storm surge walls.

Many neighborhoods have been restored, though there are vacant lots where houses once stood. A way of life is showing changes, though the city's annual Mardi Gras celebration and zest for good food, music and the NFL's New Orleans Saints had remained intact.

Bike lanes have been added, linking outlying neighborhoods with the French Quarter and downtown while a post-Katrina expansion of a streetcar service is another sign of progress.

Some lifelong residents talk of relishing renewed normalcy.

Stephen Assaf, a musician whose raised cottage was pushed off its foundation when a levee gave way, took payouts for the property and invested in repairing another house blocks away. He didn't want to leave his neighborhood.

Sipping coffee at his parents' home, he recalled the scene there after Katrina: several feet of muck all over with a car in the backyard pool and a tree running through the front doors. Eight years later, the home has been renovated, re-landscaped and many neighbors are also back in their renovated houses.

"It's looking nice here," he said.

The city is not without its trouble-spots. A crime problem predating Katrina remains. And there are questions whether post-storm reforms have really improved schools.

Many scattered far and wide when the city was abandoned. Those who came back talk of weighty decisions.

In 2008 at her rebuilt home in the city's Lower 9th Ward, Valeria Schexnayder drew praise from U.S. Rep Nancy Pelosi as an inspiration for others to start anew in a neighborhood that had been all but wiped out. Now years later, Schexnayder said, she couldn't have imagined how slow recovery would be.

"We're still living in a jungle," she said, seated on a porch with friends. She took in a view that included rebuilt homes but also vacant lots overgrown with weeds.

Linda Rhodes, who lives nearby, said she doesn't regret returning.

"This is home," she said. "This is home."

Posting this here b/c sometimes I wonder if before the rapture, there could be a temporary period of a booming economy(even more so than the 1990's "prosperity" decade - which of course ended at the turn of the century when dot.com businesses went bust) - something like this would deceive the country, and the whole world into thinking everything has turned the corner, and Obama's approval ratings would go through the roof(after being the most unpopular President this country ever had).

And this could very well get everyone to embrace the whole sodomy agenda(including our lukewarm 501c3 churches)...

http://news.yahoo.com/gay-marriage-tourism-big-economic-boom-states-175611709.html
9/23/13
Gay marriage 'tourism': How big an economic boom for states?

The summer's Supreme Court decisions unleashed pent-up demand for gay marriages, and a handful of states reaped an economic benefit. The effect is not huge, but neither is it insignificant.

When Minnesota enacted a same-sex marriage law this summer, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak saw an economic opportunity.

Earlier this month, he flew to Illinois – where legislators had recently failed to pass a same-sex marriage bill – to launch “Marry Me In Minneapolis.” Mayor Rybak invited same-sex couples from Chicago to wed (and spend a few dollars) in his city.

The ad campaign might not promise sweeping changes for the city's finances, but it could help. Demand for same-sex marriage ceremonies has grown since the United States Supreme Court in June struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal benefits to same-sex couples, according to experts and businesses.

Now, some states and cities are moving in to take advantage.

“You’re going to see an exponential increase [in same-sex marriages] as people understand” the impact of the DOMA decision, says Charlie Rounds, managing partner of Brand g Vacations, a Minneapolis gay tour operator.

Currently, the District of Columbia and 13 states permit same sex marriages, and with few other states likely to shift position in the immediate future, the gay-marriage map appears set for the moment. That clarifies the options for gay couples wanting to marry.

California and New York are huge draws for gay weddings, says LoAnn Halden, spokeswoman for the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association. For California, that is the direct result of a second Supreme Court decision in June, which struck down Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that banned gay marriage.

During the next three years, gay weddings in California will generate $492 million, according to an analysis by the Williams Institute, a think tank on gay issues at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.

Even tiny Vermont stands to benefit. It’s seen as a leader in marriage equality, which helps explain why a couple from Minnesota preferred to wed there in late July rather than wait a week for the Minnesota law to take effect, says Willie Docto, co-owner of Moose Meadow Lodge in Duxbury, Vt.

Mr. Docto and his partner, Greg Trulson, typically host 20 to 24 weddings a year for same sex couples at their bed and breakfast. But the Supreme Court's historic DOMA decision on June 26 changed that.

“The first 11 days of July we hosted 11 weddings. [DOMA] just opened up the floodgates,” says Docto.

Records from the Vermont Department of Health show that between 2010 and Aug. 31, 2012, 2,375 same sex wedding licenses were issued. Two-thirds of licensees came from out of state.

Some of these wedding travel dollars will go offshore. A number of foreign countries are touting themselves as gay wedding destinations, and Cruise Planners American Express Travel Inc. just announced a “Sea of Love” cruise from Florida to the US Virgin Islands where couples – both same sex and heterosexual – can participate in a mass commitment ceremony.

“We have seen an impressive increase in demand from same-sex couples looking to declare their love for one another, so we decided to kick it up a notch by doing this once-in-a-lifetime event,” says Michelle Fee, CEO of Cruise Planners. “This is … a turning point in history.”

Be it Vermont or the high seas, gay wedding providers may have to contend with smaller individual paydays. The average gay wedding costs $9,039, compared with $21,404 for a heterosexual couple, according to a 2012 study conducted for NYC & Co., the tourism arm of New York City. Gay couples weren’t tighter with money; they just typically invited fewer guests.

Meanwhile, Mr. Rounds, the Minneapolis tour operator, urged those wanting to tie the knot to, ahem, not forget Minnesota or Iowa, the only other Midwest state to allow gay marriage.

“Not everybody can afford to fly to New York or Boston,” he says.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matthew 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

1Tim 6:17  Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18  That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

The world loves money and is driven by their lusts for it, so I guess it's reasonable that there could be a period of financial prosperity for some. Kind of like it is now, and really, always has been. The key is that what the world projects is in fact a lie, a misdirection, an illusion. Just like some say, "Image is everything". Ironically, scripture verifies that trait in carnal man when it says that man looks on the "outward appearance". It's true. They truly are focused on laying up treasures on earth.

http://finance.yahoo.com/video/dow-p-500-close-record-235200898.html
Video: Dow, S&P 500 close at record highs
10/29/13

Discussing why stocks are going up, and the state of consumer spending, with Michael Holland, Holland and Company, and Michael Ozanian, Forbes Magazine.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/futures-flat-wall-st-heads-125240819.html
Wall St. ends best year since 1990s with moderate gains
12/31/13

By Ryan Vlastelica

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks closed out their best year in more than 15 on Tuesday, with major indexes advancing throughout 2013 on the back of the Federal Reserve's massive stimulus and expectations for accelerating growth going forward.

Wall Street ended 2013 with its positive momentum intact, advancing in its final trading day of the year on the back of positive consumer confidence data.

The S&P 500 rose 29.6 percent over the year, its best annual performance since 1997, while the Dow climbed 26.5 percent in its best year since 1995. The Nasdaq jumped 38.3 percent, its best year since 2009.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 finished the final trading day of 2013 at record closing highs.

In a sign of improving sentiment, the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) or VIX fell 23.9 percent over the year, the biggest annual drop for the so-called "fear index" since 2009.

All 10 S&P 500 sector indexes ended the year with gains as investors rode the Fed's extraordinary stimulus in a year that had only the slightest of hiccups. Wall Street even weathered a partial shutdown of the U.S. government, as well as the recent announcement that the Fed would trim its monthly bond purchases in response to an improving economic picture.

"This has been a terrific year, with all the concerns we had in January (2013) proving unfounded, and with current economic growth giving us a strong outlook for 2014," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston.

Trading volume was once again light in U.S. markets, which will be closed Wednesday for the New Year's holiday. Still, investors found reasons to buy after a read on consumer confidence rose more than expected in December.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.2 percent in October from September, but posted the strongest annualized gain in October in more than seven years.

"There's been a generally positive trend to news, including the confidence report, which bodes well for conditions next year and gives us really no reason to sell," said Carey, who helps oversee $220 billion in assets.

About 63 percent of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher for the day, while 55 percent of the shares traded on the Nasdaq ended in positive territory.

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) gained 72.37 points, or 0.44 percent, to end at 16,576.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^GSPC) advanced 7.29 points, or 0.40 percent, to finish at 1,848.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) rose 22.39 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 4,176.59.

The Dow also touched an all-time intraday high of 16,588.25 on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 set a record intraday peak of 1,849.44.

In the fourth quarter, the Dow rose 9.6 percent, the S&P 500 gained 9.9 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 10.7 percent. In December alone, the Dow advanced 3 percent, the S&P 500 rose 2.4 percent and the Nasdaq shot up 2.9 percent. It was the fourth straight monthly rally for all three.

Gains in the year were led by consumer discretionary stocks, with the sector index (.SPLRCD) up 40.4 percent. The sectors with the slimmest gains of the year - telecom (.SPLRCL), which rose 6.6 percent, and utilities (.SPSMCU), up 16.5 percent - are both considered defensive groups.

Among specific names, Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) was the S&P 500's biggest gainer, soaring 295.6 percent. Newmont Mining (NEM.N) was the index's biggest loser, falling 50.6 percent in 2013. Only 38 stocks in the S&P 500 ended the year in the red.

Few investors expect 2014 to deliver the same scale of returns. According to the most recent Reuters equity poll, the S&P 500 is seen rising to 1,925 by the end of 2014, which represents an upside of 4.1 percent from current levels.

In the corporate arena, Hertz Global Holdings Inc (HTZ) surged 10.5 percent to close at $28.62 after the company said it had adopted a one-year shareholder rights plan in response to "unusual and substantial activity" it has observed in its shares.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd (MRVL) jumped 4.5 percent to end at $14.38 after private equity firm KKR & Co LLP (KKR) reported a 6.8 percent stake in the chipmaker, according to a regulatory filing.

Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) broke its steep two-day losing streak, gaining 5.2 percent to close at $63.65. The stock's price had tumbled 17 percent between Thursday and Monday.

About 4.31 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to BATS exchange data, well below the December average of 5.89 billion shares.

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/24594504/no-fly-zone-over-metlife-stadium
No-fly zone over MetLife Stadium
1/30/14

MYFOXNY.COM -
The skies above and around MetLife Stadium will be in a no-fly zone on Super Bowl Sunday.

The first level of defense will be provided by Black Hawk helicopters with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The unarmed helos will serve as the eyes in the sky.

And if a hostile aircraft enters restricted air space near MetLife stadium, New Jersey Air National Guard F-16s based in Atlantic City will be scrambled.

Colonel Brad Everman of the 177th Fighter Wing said his pilots have been training for months and are prepared to secure the skies above the big game.

"It's not necessarily a hostile aircraft. It could be someone who is lost. It could be someone who had aircraft issues and is simply trying to fly a flight path they think is safest. So there's not necessarily a presumption of hostility," Col. Everman says.

But, he says they will be ready if a hostile aircraft enters the space.

"It's a layered defense, so what we hope to do is to get their attention and move them away from the Super Bowl. If not, a graduated response to do what we need to do to provide the safety and security," Col. Everman says.

I'm thinking Payton and company wish security had not let Seattle into the stadium!  :D

Sorry Payton, your not a football god, your just another man with an inflated ego. Maybe next year!  ;)

1The 5:3  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.


I've been thinking about this verse for awhile - notice this verse does NOT say, "There IS Peace and safety"(meaning they're *relieved* there's an [appearance]of just that). But rather, it LOOKS LIKE they're SAYING this b/c they WANT peace and safety?

IOW - look at all of the Police State measures they've been implementing at sporting events, "lockdowns" in schools(in the wave of all of these shootings), etc. Or how about the Patriot Act, and that Martial Law exercise in Boston when they were looking for one of those "bombers"? Or how about after Katrina when the Clergy Response Teams in the Gulf Coast worked with FEMA? And FEMA went around confiscating everyone's guns during this time?

They came about b/c pretty much the population(for the most part, that is) have been BEGGING for it. Personally, I was just a mere window-shopping Churchianity goer when I lived in New Orleans during Katrina, and when my "pastor" was part of this CRT helping the government, I'll admit I thought it was a great idea at the time.

Just wondering - what does everyone else think? Bringing this up b/c something I've been thinking about for awhile.

Yeah, I agree, it's the world trying to pacify the public with reassurances that everything is okay.

Carnal man believes he's master of his own existence. They also believe there are those who are the "experts", and then there is the public masses that the elites claim don't have the ability to fend for themselves, so they need those experts to manage life for them, thus those elites put themselves on a pedestal as somebody important and in charge and in turn insist the masses obey the commands of those experts.

So, those experts tell the public everything is okay, to appease them, and to try to prevent panic and chaos, because I believe people in general know when they are being lied to, and the father of lies knows that. He knows the unbelieving public knows what they don't like, and that the public will definitely not like what is coming from the world, thus all these various agencies are arming themselves and getting military grade equipment, preparing for the backlash that I think is coming in the end.

Other than the greed and corruption, in a world where God doesn't exist, their way of doing things seems to make sense on the surface, if man were actually alone in the universe. It seems to make sense they would make preparations for disasters, pre-stage supplies, etc. And of course it makes sense that you would want your law enforcement to be better armed than criminals, right? Wouldn't want thugs to have the upper hand over the public now would we?

Makes for an easy cover explanation, and the ignorant public is none the wiser, so long as they feel safe of course. But we know the reality is that the public is in fact being lied to, that it is not all peace and safety at all. Every single person's soul who has not repented are at risk of eternal death, but the father of lies doesn't tell the public that now does he? Instead he tells them, "It's all okay, don't worry, we got this", which couldn't be further from the truth.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-26129171
11 February 2014 Last updated at 07:12 ET

China and Taiwan in first government talks

China and Taiwan have held their first high-level talks since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Wang Yu-chi and Zhang Zhijun, the top cross-strait officials from each side, attended the four-day talks in Nanjing.

No official agenda was released for the talks, which are widely seen as a confidence-building exercise.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory. In the past, all talks have gone via quasi-official organisations.

Mr Zhang, head of mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said: "It's impossible to imagine in the past that we could sit here and meet."

"We must have some imagination if [we want to] resolve some difficulties, not just for such a meeting, we should also have a bigger imagination for cross-strait future development," he added.

Mr Wang, head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, described the meeting as "a new chapter for cross-strait relations".

"For us to simply sit at the same table, sit down to discuss issues, is already not an easy thing."

Improving ties
 
Given the sensitivities, the meeting room had no flags on display, and the officials' nameplates had no titles or affiliations, the AFP news agency reported.

Beijing insists that Taiwan is part of China and has a stated aim of reclaiming the island.

Taiwan still calls itself the Republic of China and nominally claims the same territory as the Communist government in Beijing, although it does not press these claims.

The US is committed to defending Taipei, despite not formally recognising Taiwan as an independent country.

The situation has created a decades-long military stand-off between Beijing and Washington.

But cross-strait ties have improved since Taiwan's pro-Beijing President Ma Ying-jeou was elected in 2008.

Cross-strait flights began in 2008, and tourists from the mainland have boosted Taiwan's economy.

Trade agreements have allowed Taiwanese technology firms to expand massively, investing billions of dollars in the mainland.

However, Mr Ma is unpopular and analysts say his governing Kuomintang party is likely to lose local elections later this year.

'Universal value'
 
The talks are the first formal government-to-government dialogue since the 1949 split.

For years, mainland China and Taiwan dealt with each other indirectly, though so-called friendship associations and trade groups, the BBC's Celia Hatton in Beijing reports.

Amid all the smiles, tension remains: China refuses to retract its long-standing threat that it could eventually take back Taiwan, by force if necessary, our correspondent adds.

Taiwan negotiators are likely to propose the posting of permanent representatives on each other's territories.

But they will also face pressure to talk about press freedom after China refused accreditation to several media outlets.

"Press freedom is a universal value," Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.

"We've repeatedly said that the most important thing regarding news exchange between the two sides is the free and equal flow of information."

Many Taiwanese are sensitive to issues of press freedom, having lived under a dictatorship that tightly controlled the media until the 1980s.

Correspondents say Beijing's negotiators are likely to press for closer economic co-operation.

It's all about bringing countries into the universal fold of "international commerce". We know it as the love of money. China is just calling in their cut of the action. As they say, "It's just business".

And all of this is doing just that - merging everything together, which is ever so closely edging to the last days prophecies.

It's a lot like these Babel church buildings - these pastors and other leaderships are doing this "church growth" aka building memberships nonsense b/c of the love of money. But their eyes are being blinded to the fact that it's edging closer and closer to this One World Church system.

http://news.yahoo.com/much-needed-rain-snow-hit-parched-california-223946787.html
2/23/14
Much-needed rain, snow to hit parched California

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Meteorologists forecast a pair of storms could dump several inches of rain on parched cities and croplands throughout California in the coming week, bringing welcome news to a state that has just endured its driest year in recorded history.

While the rain won't be enough to end the drought, the National Weather Service projected Sunday that the much-needed precipitation could nearly double the amount of rainfall in parts of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area this year.

By next Saturday, the twin Pacific storms are expected to bring as much as 2 inches of rain to the coast and several feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada.

The first storm on Wednesday won't offer much relief, just light overnight rains heading into Thursday. By Friday, radar images show the second storm should drench the entire state for 24 hours.

"We're not calling it a drought-buster, but it definitely will make a difference," said Jim Bagnall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, one of many San Joaquin Valley towns where farmers have fallowed crops in anticipation of record low water supplies. "With these few storms, we could see about an inch total in the valley. So this could obviously have some significant impact."

The wet weather is badly needed: Since July 1, only 5.85 inches of rain have fallen in San Francisco, or about 35 percent of normal for this time of year. Just 1.2 inches have fallen in downtown Los Angeles, compared to 10.45 inches in a normal year.

The heavy rains will likely lead to flash flooding and runoff, carrying mud, trees and debris in areas burned in recent fires, such as the Colby fire, near Glendora.

"People who live around the burn areas need to be aware that Friday and Saturday could be potentially dangerous days," said Andrew Rorke, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

At higher elevations, the storms could blanket the Sierra in several feet of snow reaching down as low as about 4,500 feet, Bagnall said.

Looking further into the future, meteorologists say computer models show another sign of hope: greater chances that this year could see El Nino conditions and accompanying rainfall.

The San Jose Mercury News reports (http://bit.ly/1fmbIyT) researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in November there was a 36 percent chance of El Nino conditions developing by August 2014. NOAA recently updated that probability to 49 percent.

"There's been an uptick recently. More models favor El Niño," said Jon Gottschalck, acting chief of operational prediction at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center in College Park, Md. "We certainly don't want to promise anything, but conditions are looking better."

Scientists are quick to say that El Nino conditions don't guarantee that California will get intense rainfall. But if the pattern is strong and temperatures are warm in the Pacific Ocean, the likelihood of heavy rainfall increases.

No Jim it won't. It just delays the inevitable.

http://sports.ca.msn.com/nfl/news/michael-sam-jason-collins-paving-the-way-for-a-better-workplace-world
Updated: February 24, 2014 2:01 PM | By Scott Fujita, FOX Sports
Michael Sam, Jason Collins paving the way for a better workplace, world

Jason Collins played for the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Michael Sam is heading toward a career in the NFL. What these two men are also doing by saying they are openly gay is helping the cause of inclusivity as well as providing invaluable lessons to us all.

Who cares? What’s the big deal? Why are we even talking about this stuff?

These are a few of the questions that have been asked in the wake of Michael Sam’s historic, groundbreaking announcement. Or as Jason Collins prepared to take a historic, groundbreaking first step onto the basketball court as an openly gay man.

And yes, these are groundbreaking moments.

Here’s why.

In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need to talk about all this. Common sense would dictate that all would be universally accepted and treated equal, and that everyone could walk boldly in a world free of discrimination. We’re not in that world, yet. Unfortunately, sense still isn’t all too common.

But do you know what Michael’s and Jason’s courageous first steps have accomplished?

They have brought us one step closer to a day when stories like this will no longer be newsworthy.

What Michael and Jason have done also brings us one step closer to finally dispelling the notion that our locker rooms are bastions of homophobia. They’re not. In spite of what many outsiders may think, players in the NFL and NBA are a lot more accepting than they get credit for.

Years ago, when I was first getting to know writer Cyd Zeigler at Outsports, I felt he had the (mis)perception that football players would be incapable of accepting an openly gay teammate. I told him about some of my experiences and about many of the conversations I’d had with teammates over the years. Then I challenged him to start asking questions. And he did.

I’m glad my suspicions were confirmed and Cyd was able to report that the countless players he spoke with were overwhelmingly supportive of the notion of having a gay teammate. I credit Cyd with helping advance this conversation and giving so many players a voice that was otherwise unheard. I’ve always felt that if and when a player decided to come out, he would be accepted with open arms -- no matter the locker room -- without hesitation. And I’m more certain now than ever.

All of this has also brought us one step closer to players being more mindful of the language they use.

Many players will be forced to confront the language that’s always been such a common part of their vernacular. They will have to actually consider for the first time how they may be hurting the man in the next locker. I know for certain that most men who use hurtful words like “****” and childish phrases like “no homo” aren’t necessarily homophobic, and they don’t particularly hate gay people. They’ve just never had an experience or an encounter that forced them to grow up. Well, now’s the time to grow up.

In pro sports, we probably all suffer from a slight case of Peter Pan syndrome. If you’re never forced or expected to grow up, then why would you? But when it comes to our profession of choice, our demands and expectations are quite simple: Is the man next to me doing everything he can to help us win? That’s it.

And for years the idea of a gay teammate was just that -- an idea. I think the digressives always assumed there were perhaps a few closeted gay athletes on perhaps a few football or basketball teams, but now it’s real. It’s no longer speculative. So for all the inappropriate words or phrases that some players would have of course never said around someone who was actually gay, there are now men in their locker rooms or competing against them on game day who are actually gay. I’m confident players will respond appropriately -- with respect. And there’s no need to provide disproportionate coverage to the few on the margins who may be struggling to evolve. They’ll come around.

Michael and Jason have helped bring the NFL and NBA one step closer to clearly defining the locker room for what it is -- a workplace.

Those of us who have spent a lot of time in a locker room have been at some point guilty of saying or doing things that would have likely gotten us fired in a traditional workplace environment. And the same thing goes for coaches who, when it comes to inappropriate language, are often some of the worst offenders. As much as the NFL locker room may sometimes seem like a fraternity, it’s not. And while that environment is one of the things many of us actually miss when we leave the game, we all need to embrace the long overdue changes that are sure to come.

This is where men like commissioners Roger Goodell (NFL) and Adam Silver (NBA), and the NFLPA and NBAPA -- all of whom have been on the right side of this conversation -- have an opportunity to shine. And it really won’t take a whole lot, other than clearly and publicly defining what is appropriate and acceptable at the workplace, and what is not.

Imagine the message it would send if Goodell looked directly into the TV set, speaking intently to his players and to all who are watching, and clearly and emphatically articulated that the word “****” will no longer be acceptable language in the workplace. And what if players began to echo Goodell’s sentiment in the locker room, or out in the community, or when they visit schools and speak to children on their days off? That would be a whole lot more powerful than a revised pamphlet on workplace conduct. That would be a game-changer.

This is where I think the Miami Dolphins saga has provided so many teaching moments. I’m not necessarily one to advocate for public ridicule or fines or suspensions for men who behave inappropriately. In many respects, I think that can be counterproductive. In my experience, there’s a much more diplomatic and effective way to educate and change behavior. Sometimes, all it takes is a conversation. So let’s start having those conversations. Let’s make sure players know there’s a Human Resources department upstairs with actual people who have actual names who actually want to help. And while these things may seem like trivial, common-sense concepts, they’ll actually help guys transition away from Neverland and into the real world. If we clearly define the workplace, players will be better prepared for their next career, which is always just around the corner.

I think the journeys of Michael and Jason have brought us one step closer to showing that devout Christians in NFL and NBA clubhouses aren’t going to be overly judgmental menaces looking to ostracize a gay teammate.

Many outsiders assume there will be some Christian crusade with pitchforks raised and torches ablaze aimed at making life miserable for an openly gay player. But I just don’t see that happening. I’ve spoken to dozens of Christian teammates over the years, and without exception, not one said they wouldn’t be able to accept a gay teammate in the locker room if and when one decided to be open about his sexuality. I think many of these men, some of whom are dear friends of mine, have at times been unfairly characterized. Sure, I’ve had my share of debates with them on a host of issues, but I know where they stand on this one.

Hopefully this helps bring all the “unnamed” general managers and scouts one step closer to discovering what a negative distraction really is.

I’ve always felt that if a team decided to pass on players like Michael or Jason because of their sexual orientation, it wouldn’t be about homophobia or a general aversion to homosexuals. It would be because of the perceived distraction that having a gay player might bring. But here’s what I would say to the unnamed: If you can’t handle distractions, then you don’t belong in this business. And for the record, being gay is not a negative distraction. In the short term, you may have to answer a few questions you’ve never had to answer before, but you’ll get through it. Jason Collins played in a basketball game last night. As an openly gay man. And the world didn’t come crashing down. Imagine that.

All the other things that regularly come across your desk -- player gets charged with a DUI, fails a drug test, gets in a bar fight, etc. -- those are negative distractions. And if I’m evaluating players for my roster, those are the red flags I view under a microscope. They don’t automatically cause me to question a player’s character, because anyone can make a mistake. But they make me question his decision-making and whether he can be trusted when he’s out of the building. One’s sexual orientation couldn’t be less relevant to my evaluation of a player. I’m confident the vast majority of club decision-makers agree. Here’s to hoping the “unnamed” begin to figure it out.

Michael and Jason have brought hundreds of men one step closer to having a gay friend for perhaps the first time in their lives.

And what all these men will quickly realize is that this person is really no different from them. He’s not going to make a pass at you. The “gay” in him is not contagious, and it won’t wash off in the team shower. In many respects, they’ll see that this new teammate ultimately shares many of their same dreams and aspirations and that his sexuality is in fact one of the least defining things about him.

And hopefully we’re one step closer to recognizing the difference between tolerance and acceptance.

We “tolerate” mosquitoes. But we should accept people. What you’re about to see are hundreds of men across two sports not merely tolerating a gay player because he’s a peer in their league, but actually accepting him because he’s their friend.

We’ve also gotten one step closer to all players feeling more included at team/family functions.

For 11 years I walked proudly with my wife into team Christmas parties. In doing so, I wasn’t shoving my sexual orientation down anyone’s throat. I was simply sharing the love of my life with my teammates and coaches. Soon players like Michael and Jason will feel comfortable to do the same with theirs, free of concern that there might be an uncomfortable stare or a snicker from the corner of the room. Their loved ones will sit in the family and friends section on game day instead of hiding in some far corner of the stadium or watching from home. They’ll be able to share an embrace with their partner as they exit the locker room immediately after a tough loss, rather than waiting until they get back to the car. In short, their significant other will finally have a seat at the table with my significant other.

And by taking this brave first step, Michael and Jason have brought LGBT advocacy work around sports one small step closer to no longer being needed.

And I think that’s a good thing. In my opinion, it’s groups like “You Can Play” under the leadership of Patrick Burke and Wade Davis; “Athlete Ally” at the direction of Hudson Taylor; the “Trevor Project”; and the “GLSEN Sports Project,” among many others, that have made these groundbreaking moments possible. They have been absolute champions in promoting a sports culture that is free of homophobia and discrimination. They have helped set the template for inclusivity in our locker rooms and on our playing fields. And they have been invaluable resources for so many who were either struggling or who just needed to know they had support. And trust me, these groups would like nothing more than for their work to one day become obsolete because it was no longer needed.

And most importantly, Michael and Jason have gotten us one giant step closer to reducing the suicide rate of gay teens.

That’s not an exaggeration. Michael and Jason are actually helping save lives. There are countless gay teens living, and struggling, in the closet. Maybe they’re playing a team sport and they feel ostracized and unwelcome because of the hurtful language their friends and teammates use so regularly. Or perhaps they’re afraid to play a sport because they don’t think they’ll fit in. Oftentimes this leaves them feeling lost, confused, scared and alone. And in far too many cases, they begin to experience suicidal thoughts.

But now, some of these kids can look to men like Michael and Jason and say, “You know what? I’m not alone. There are others like me.” That’s one huge part of the national narrative that I think is missing right now.

Five years ago my wife and I attended a GLAAD function in Los Angeles. We met a young lady who pulled us aside to describe a tragedy that had recently occurred in her life. Her teenage brother had committed suicide after coming out to a very unsuspecting and unsupportive father. She explained to me that her dad was a big-time football fan, a “man’s man” of sorts, but that after hearing me (a football player he cheered for) speak on the issue of equality, he began to rethink his views. She then challenged me to continue to speak out on behalf of her lost brother, because the “only way to change the heart and mind of someone like her father was for him to hear that people he admires would embrace someone like his son.”

Now just imagine what will happen when men like her father hear the story of Michael Sam and Jason Collins, and he watches as their teammates embrace them like they do any other teammate. That will change hearts and minds. And ultimately, it will help save lives.

And finally, I think we’re one step closer to moving past the questions about whether pro sports are “ready” for this, or whether this is the “right” time.

For many of us, our goal has never been to actively encourage closeted gay athletes to come out to the world. I’m not a closeted gay athlete, so I can’t pretend to know what that feels like. How am I supposed to tell someone else what they should share about their personal life? Instead, the goal has always been to foster the most inclusive atmosphere as possible so that if and when a player decides to come out, he would know he has support.

This was the right time for Michael and Jason, and both were ready now. And that’s all that matters. Now it’s our responsibility to support them and let them do the only thing they want to do.

Play ball.

No they haven't.  ::)

The gay community is SO desperate for a hero to champion their cause, they resort to exaggeration and embellishment of the facts.

While Collins is signed with an NBA team and has had some playing time, he's no starter.

As for Sam, he hasn't made it to the NFL yet. In fact, in the combines, he had the second LOWEST reps for the bench press among 48 players! He's the weakest, not the fastest, and definitely one of the smallest defensive linemen. For linebackers, he's way too slow being timed at 4.9.

With the following numbers, he's in trouble! He'd be lucky to be signed as a practice squad player. He needed to put up massive numbers from college, like lead the nation in sacks and tackles or something, but he didn't. He was successful because of the team he was on, which had a good defense, so it's hard to block everybody every play. Co-defensive player of the year in the SEC is nice, but I don't think it's enough. He likely will sign with a team, but I doubt he'll do much else.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/hype-nfl-prospect-michael-sam-combine-performance-unimpressive-200726801--nfl.html;_ylt=A0SO8obhNwxTbCUAvrZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0aXJrdTJ1BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDA3N18x (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/hype-nfl-prospect-michael-sam-combine-performance-unimpressive-200726801--nfl.html;_ylt=A0SO8obhNwxTbCUAvrZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0aXJrdTJ1BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDA3N18x)

http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20140304&id=17397149
3/4/14
S&P 500 ends at a record; Ukraine-Russia tensions ease

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record as concerns about a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine eased, and the market recovered more than all of the previous session's hefty losses.

President Vladimir Putin delivered a robust defense of Russia's actions in Crimea on Tuesday, saying he would use force in Ukraine only as a last resort. His comments relieved investors' fears that East-West tension over the former Soviet republic could lead to war.

The day's gains followed Wall Street's worst day in a month, when investors sold stocks and other risky assets as tensions escalated between Ukraine and Russia. Global stocks rebounded on Tuesday while gold, the Japanese yen and Treasuries prices fell. Crude oil prices, up more than 2 percent on Monday, reversed some of that session's gain in trading on Tuesday.

"Monday's selling and Tuesday's stark reversal have become commonplace in traders' calendars in 2014," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut.

"Investors have clearly got an appetite for equities displaying strong momentum, no matter whether geopolitical risks or fears for the health of the recovery stand in their path."

The CBOE Volatility Index , Wall Street's fear barometer, slid 11.9 percent to end at 14.10 on Tuesday. That was a sharp reversal from Monday, when the VIX rose 14 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 227.85 points or 1.41 percent, to end at 16,395.88. The S&P 500 gained 28.18 points or 1.53 percent, to finish at 1,873.91. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 74.671 points or 1.75 percent, to close at 4,351.972.

The S&P 500 ended at a record high for the second time since Friday, when the broad index finished February with a milestone. In Tuesday's session, industrials and financials ranked among the biggest gainers. The benchmark index is up 1.4 percent for the year.

The Wilshire 5000 Index closed above 20,000 for the first time. The index has gained 193.55 percent or $15.9 trillion from its low on March 9, 2009, after the financial crisis.

"The longer-term trend of the U.S. equity indexes remains positive," but short-term indicators "remain overbought and are peaking as most indexes rally back to resistance at their 2014 highs," said Robert Sluymer, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, LLC in New York.

Walt Disney Co shares hit a record intraday high after reaching a deal with Dish Network that lets the No. 2 satellite TV provider carry Disney-owned networks such as ABC and ESPN, and deliver the content outside of a traditional TV subscription. Disney shares rose 2.8 percent to close at $81.71, after hitting an all-time intraday high of $82.17.

Qualcomm Inc rose 3.4 percent to end at $76.11, off an all-time intraday high of $76.79 reached on Tuesday. The world's biggest cellphone chip maker raised its stock-buyback authorization by $5 billion to $7.8 billion, and increased its cash dividend by 20 percent.

Shares of RadioShack Corp plunged 17.3 percent to $2.25. The struggling retailer said it would close up to 1,100 U.S. stores after a huge drop in holiday sales.

About 7.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, slightly lower than the 7 billion average for the past month, according to data from BATS Global Markets.

Advancers beat decliners by a ratio of about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, while on the Nasdaq, more than four stocks rose for every one that fell.

http://www.circleid.com/posts/20140319_cloud_computing_can_make_you_more_secure/
3/19/14
Cloud Computing Can Make You More Secure  

Mar 19, 2014 8:18 AM PST

The number one concern cited for avoiding cloud computing is security. And there is a reason for that. Cloud providers have demonstrated some spectacular failures in the past, including Amazon's near total shutdown of an entire region, Dropbox's authentication snafu, and innumerous cloud providers that go belly-up.

However, in the long run, cloud computing is destined to become more secure than in-house IT. I will briefly describe two dynamics in the industry that point in that direction, with substantiating evidence.

First, good cloud providers are getting better, as they have more staff available to do security, and bigger economies of scale, allowing them to sustain more security processes. Here is a case in point. Security people are, by nature, pretty paranoid. However, some are more paranoid than others. At a cloud security training I recently conducted, one of the attendants had created an Amazon Web Services account solely for the training. He terminated the entire account on the last afternoon. Just before the training was over, he showed me a message on his smartphone. Within an hour after he terminated the account, his LinkedIn profile was visited by somebody from the Amazon compliance department. Apparently his behavior was suspect. Either that, or they played a game on who can be the most paranoid.

As another example, does your IT department track rogue resource usage and credential leakage on a systematic basis? Some cloud providers do this for you, as this story of API credential leakage demonstrates.

Second, while the previous examples show that cloud providers can become better than the average IT department across the board, in specific areas specialized services are already way ahead of the competence and resources of the average IT department. This is nowadays called 'Security as a Service', or SecaaS (another example of an acronymic cloud nonomatopoeia), but the trend has roots that go back quite a while. Basically the idea is that a lot of security functionality is done in a better way by taking advantage of cloud computing essential characteristics such as elastic scalability and resource pooling.

Examples of SecaaS that you may be familiar with or are actually using are: Email spam and malware filtering, blacklist and other reputation services, DDoS mitigation and monitoring (i.e. performance). We are also seeing companies using cloud services as a component of a disaster recovery strategy. Innovation in this field is strong.

So, in conclusion, the market is nearing a 'tipping point' where the cloud may actually be more secure than on-premise IT.

What a bunch of techno bull.  ::)

More like LESS secure in a HUGE way.

This guy obviously has sold out to the system. Proof? He talks about your local IT is less secure, but he fails to point out, that with cloud computing, those companies use IT people too! And those people who work for cloud companies are no more reliable than your IT department staff. They get lazy and indifferent too.


But none of that is the "security" point. The real issue he's avoiding talking about is the breach in security in letting somebody else hold your stuff, which is exactly what those companies do. They are a place to store your software for computing. That means all your stuff must be stored on some other companies servers, which is the real violation of security.

More staff just means more of a potential for somebody to not do their job. The "economy of scale"? Size DOES NOT equate to more security, and it's dishonest to even suggest it like this clown is. Each cloud company stands on it's own, thus have their own security protocols, but that doesn't mean the company is competent or will use the latest security techniques.

Why would you store all your computer software on another company's computers? It's a sucker's bet, and the security experts know it. It's authors like this one that have sold out and are pitchmen for the thugs in the industry.

Seriously people, think about it. How many times has people said not to put all your eggs in one basket? Countless times, but cloud computing and storage is doing exactly that, one basket, and even worse, it's somebody's elses basket!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-jobs-report-signal-stronger-040301083.html
U.S. payrolls surge in April, jobless rate hits 5-1/2 year low
5/2/14

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth increased at its fastest pace in more than two years in April and the unemployment rate dived to a 5-1/2 year low of 6.3 percent, suggesting a sharp rebound in economic activity early in the second quarter.

Nonfarm payrolls surged 288,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. That was the largest gain since January 2012 and beat Wall Street's expectations for only a 210,000 increase.

The unemployment rate tumbled 0.4 percentage point, touching its lowest level since September 2008. The Labor Department attributed the decline to a drop in the number of unemployed people reentering the labor market as well as a fall in new entrants into the labor force.

The economy stalled in the first quarter, weighed down by an unusually cold and disruptive winter. A slow pace of stock accumulation by businesses, while they work through a glut of goods amassed in the second half of 2013, also undercut growth.

The employment report joins other upbeat data such as consumer spending and industrial production in suggesting the first quarter's 0.1 percent annual growth pace was an aberration and is not a reflection of the economy's otherwise sound fundamentals.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday shrugged off the dismal performance. The U.S. central bank, which announced further reductions to the amount of money it is pumping into the economy through monthly bond purchases, said indications were that "growth in economic activity has picked up recently."

Economists expect second-quarter growth to top a 3 percent pace.

While details of the bigger survey of employers were upbeat, the smaller and volatile household survey from which the unemployment rate is calculated was mixed.

Household employment fell slightly after increasing robustly in the first quarter. The labor force, which also grew during the same period as improving job prospects encouraged some job seekers who had given up the hunt to resume looking for work, declined sharply in April.

The labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed and unemployed but looking for a job, fell 0.4 percentage point to 62.8 percent. That was the lowest level since last December.

Some of the 1.35 million people who lost their longer-term unemployment benefits at the end of last December could have dropped out the labor force last month.

The participation rate and the persistently high number of Americans out of work for long spells could keep the Fed from lifting interest rates for some time to come.

April job gains were broad based. Government payrolls rose by 15,000. Manufacturing employment increased 12,000. Construction payrolls gained 32,000, but the hiring trend could slow in the months ahead as residential construction loses some steam.

Average hourly earnings were flat in April. The length of the workweek held steady at 34.5 hours in April after bouncing back in March from its winter-depressed levels.

I just accidentally stumbled onto this(while looking for a thread) - is this really how a Christian should talk and behave? Doesn't this kind of behavior cause the (lost)world to blaspheme God?(and I'm talking about ALL of us here - as I myself have gotten into this trap)

James 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

James 3:8  But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Jas 3:9  Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

The Impact of Recreational Marijuana Use on a Denver Neighborhood
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/smart-spending/impact-recreational-marijuana-use-denver-neighborhood?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO
8/8/14

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Emick's Auto is a car repair shop on Jasmine Street in Denver that services both Asian and American vehicles right around the corner from Gaia Plant-Based Medicine, a marijuana dispensary. Owner and mechanic David Emick prefers having the dispensary as a neighboring business because of the regulation that exists in the legal marijuana industry.

"There are laws against loitering in front of dispensaries," Emick told MainStreet. "I see a lot of loitering in front of liquor stores, but nobody ever hangs around Gaia. Customers are in and out and on their way."

The estimated 275 dispensaries that exist in Denver are largely located in lower income areas, according to a recent study released by the University of Colorado in Denver. But residents don't perceive the presence of a dispensary as undesirable.

"I get contacted on a daily basis from people looking for a job and wanting to come to work," said Meg Sanders who owns Gaia Plant-Based Medicine on Colfax Avenue along with three other retail stores in the city and a growing facility at the corner of Holly Street and 39th Avenue, which employs eight full time cultivators as well as biologists, horticulturists and mechanical and aerospace engineers to produce 300 pounds of cannabis a month.

In addition to creating jobs, marijuana dispensaries appear to have positively impacted the city financially.

"We continue to see increases in tax revenue from recreational sales," said Crisanta Duran, a state house representative who chairs the joint budget committee. "Medical marijuana licenses have increased by 3.8% and last months' tax revenues from recreational marijuana increased by more than 10%. Overall, there's been an upward trend."

So far since January, the state of Colorado has raked in about $11 million in sales and excise taxes on recreational marijuana, according to statistics published in June by the Colorado Department of Revenue. The total for recreational and medical marijuana taxes and fees combined is about $18 million.

"At the state level, we focus on how to invest recreational marijuana tax dollars, school construction and keeping marijuana out of the hands of children," said Duran, whose office is located on the same avenue as Gaia Plant Based Medicine. "There are multiple ways to address these issues at the state and local level."

Denver has issued more than 300 sales-tax licenses for dispensaries.

"What we've seen in Colorado since regulation is a 3% drop in teen use, a 25% reduction in the availability of cannabis on school grounds and a drop in traffic fatalities," said Darnell, an attorney who specializes in marijuana law. "We've also seen crime drop in neighborhoods with dispensaries in them. It's across the board."

**And we've heard this same argument when Bill Clinton was in office - that the number of abortions *declined* during his 8 years in office b/c he was on the side of "giving women that freedom and choice"?

That may be partly a result of healthy distancing of dispensaries from schools by Denver city officials as well as state funding of public awareness campaigns.

"Five million dollars is going towards advertisements to educate the public about the use of marijuana," said Duran who chairs the joint budget committee. We've also invested money in school prevention programs and $40 million will go to school construction. We are trying to regulate in a reasonable fashion according to the will of the people of Colorado."

*Didn't they say the same thing when they legalized gambling in states 20 years ago? That how all the revenue will be given to public education? Look at how that's turned out!

Amendment 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana, was a ballot measure for which 55% voted yes and 44% voted no on November 6, 2012. Those who voted against Amendment 64 reportedly claim marijuana is addictive and is damaging to children because it permanently affects brain development, impairs learning ability and contributes to depression.

Following in the footsteps of Denver, sister cities such as Aurora are taking great care to plan their retail market in advance to minimize any negative impact marijuana sales could have on their neighborhoods.

"Anybody who is applying to sell marijuana here needs to have a state license first," said Kim Stuart, director of communications with the city of Aurora, which is located about half an hour from Denver. "Dispensaries need to be located away from schools, hospitals and substance abuse facilities and reasonable distances from our neighborhoods."

Although the short term impact of a dispensary on the community may be better than a liquor store, the long term effect on the people of Colorado and their children remains to be seen.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/coming-of-age--millennials-ready-to-boost-economy-164326907.html
2/10/15
Coming of age: Millennials ready to boost economy

Millennials are pounding the pavement and helping to lead the best three-month period of job growth in 17 years. The population of workers ages 25-34, who make up the prime working age, is growing and that’s good news for the economy.

Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist, Michael Santoli says America is getting younger and that should give an extra boost to economic growth in the coming years. “Right now the most common age in America is 23. So 1991 was the peak birth year of this generation. So they’re going to be turning 24 this year and that’s going to carry through for a long time. Presumably as they get jobs, houses and cars.”

For the most part, these younger Americans are graduating college and hitting their ideal working years. Santoli says the sheer size of the generation is key to job growth. “It’s not so much that they were out of the workforce and they’re streaming in, as much as there are many of them reaching peak labor force years. Essentially they are getting into the heart of their working lives.”

People who are in their 20s make up the largest group of Americans. Their coming of age directly coincides with the baby boomer generation retiring. “This is the replacement cycle of humanity. Population growth and especially the working age growth is a key input in how fast the economy can grow. When you had the baby boomers entering this period in the 1970s and 1980s you had very rapid labor force growth and that was really a boost to growth. That’s why we got used to faster economic growth rates,” says Santoli.

The hope is for this latest group of younger Americans to make strides in the work force and pump more capital into the economy. “Now we don’t really have the credit growth so you have to have people in there starting to be productive, starting to consume more and that’s basically what gives you the economic growth,” says Santoli.

Except for what's going on in the ME now, it seems like the only "bad" news coming out nowdays are either some football team having problems, or some entertainment getting caught up in whatever "scandal". And speaking of the ME, the news media is spinning it like ISIS getting defeated(by Russia) is the end of all end of bad things there(to the contrary, Russia is slowly taking over world powers).

Here's one of the many "good news" items I saw just now...

http://news.yahoo.com/congressional-budget-office-budget-deficit-drops-435b-213556389--finance.html
Congressional Budget Office: Budget deficit drops to $435B
10/7/15

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional budget analysts said Wednesday that the federal government ran a deficit of $435 billion in the just-completed budget year, the smallest deficit since 2007 and well below the record shortfalls of President Barack Obama's first term.

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The Congressional Budget Office report says it's the sixth consecutive drop in a row for the deficit, when measured against the size of the economy, since the $1.4 trillion deficit of Obama's first term.

The improved deficit figures come as Washington is grappling with the need to increase the government's borrowing cap in early November. The White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are also seeking a separate agreement on a budget to keep the government open past a Dec. 11 deadline.

During Obama's first term, the deficit was greater than $1 trillion for four years in a row in the wake of the Wall Street bailout, a huge stock market drop and a major recession.

The budget office does nonpartisan analysis for Congress; the official government estimate from the White House budget office and Treasury Department typically is released in mid-October.

The stronger figures represent 8 percent growth in tax revenues, led by 10 percent growth in individual income taxes. Spending grew more slowly, though the cost of health insurance subsidies through exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act almost doubled, to $27 billion.

CBO expects the deficit's downward trend to continue for a couple of more years but says long-term trends, driven by the continuing retirement of the baby Boom generation and its effect on benefit programs like Medicare and Social Security, will likely cause an eventual fiscal crisis.

Two attempts by Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to negotiate a sweeping deficit-cutting package ended in failure after Boehner pulled out of the talks. Now, Obama is refusing to offer concessions in exchange for increasing the government's $18.1 trillion borrowing cap. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has warned Congress to act by Nov. 5 to avoid a first-ever default, though an analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center think tank in Washington says the absolute latest deadline will fall between Nov. 10-19.

In 2011, after Republicans reclaimed the House — and before his re-election — Obama conceded $2.1 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years as part of a deal with Boehner to lift the debt cap and avert a financial crisis. Since then, he's refused to offer more cuts as a condition for increasing the debt limit and Republicans have reluctantly gone along.

Talks on a spending package that would ease automatic cuts to agency budgets, known as sequestration, imposed by the 2011 deal and replace them with savings elsewhere in the budget have just started. Obama has vowed to veto legislation that doesn't lift those spending "caps" but many House GOP conservatives are insisting on retaining them and being more confrontational with Obama under the incoming House leadership team. Boehner announced his resignation at month's end under pressure from tea party hardliners.

"Long term demographic trends and compounding interest on the debt demand that Congress work together to place America on a more fiscally sustainable path forward,' said House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland. "This begins with reaching a budget agreement this month to replace the harmful sequester with a more responsible strategy for deficit reduction."

http://news.yahoo.com/countries-heart-ebola-outbreak-see-first-virus-free-064601169.html
Countries at heart of Ebola outbreak see first virus-free week
10/9/15

DAKAR (Reuters) - The three West African countries at the heart of an Ebola epidemic recorded their first week with no new cases since the outbreak was declared in March 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The U.N. agency said that more than 11,000 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the world's worst known occurrence of Ebola, but there were no new cases in the week to Oct. 4.

New cases of Ebola have dwindled sharply this year but the WHO said there was still a risk of the disease breaking out again.

"Over 500 contacts remain under follow-up in Guinea, and several high-risk contacts associated with active and recently active chains of transmission in Guinea and Sierra Leone have been lost to follow-up," it said in its situation report.

Sierra Leone released its last known Ebola patients on Sept. 28 and must wait 42 days until it can be declared free of the disease.

Liberia received that declaration for a second time on Sept. 3 after a flare-up in June but remains under heightened surveillance. Guinea's most recent cases were recorded on Sept. 27.

http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-rejects-more-nuclear-talks-demands-peace-152618446.html
North Korea rejects more nuclear talks, demands peace treaty with U.S.
10/17/15

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Saturday rejected the idea of resuming talks to end its nuclear program, saying previous such attempts ended in failure, and reiterated its demand that Washington come to the table to negotiate a peace treaty.

The statement by the North's foreign ministry came a day after U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye said in Washington they were open to talks with North Korea on sanctions but that Pyongyang needs to show it was serious about abandoning its nuclear ambition.

"If the United States insists on taking a different path, the Korean peninsula will only see our unlimited nuclear deterrent being strengthened further," the North's foreign ministry said in a statement.

North and South Korea remain technically at war under a truce it signed in 1953 with the United States, which led U.N. forces backing the South, and China, which fought for the North.

North Korea walked away from the so-called six-party talks involving the United States and four other countries in 2008 and went on to conduct two more nuclear tests.

It said only a peace treaty with Washington can permanently resolve the conflict on the Korean peninsula.

Obama said the United States was open to negotiations that could ease sanctions imposed on the North, just as it had done with Iran, which reached a deal in July with major powers.

"We haven't even gotten to that point yet, because there has been no indication on the part of the North Koreans as there was with the Iranians that they could foresee a future in which they did not possess or were not pursuing nuclear weapons," he said.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Ros Russell)

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.



It is shown here that the brethren will witness the time of false peace and the brethren will witness the sudden destruction.

http://news.yahoo.com/us-unemployment-rate-falls-5-0-october-134100745.html
11/6/15
US jobless rate falls to 5.0%, supporting Fed rate hike

Washington (AFP) - US unemployment fell to 5.0 percent in October, the lowest since early 2008, supporting the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates for the first time since the economic crisis.

The Labor Department said Friday that the economy pumped out a strong 271,000 net new jobs last month, nearly double the September number and 90,000 more than economists had forecast.

In addition, wage growth picked up after several flat months, with average hourly earnings up nearly 2.5 percent year-on-year, not as strong as economists hoped but more evidence of tightening in the labor market.

It was a solid rebound after two weak months, attesting to US economic strength despite the global slowdown. Markets took it as a green light for the Fed to embark on a series of interest rate hikes at its December meeting, after keeping its benchmark rate near zero since December 2008.

While that move will still depend on whether the October performance holds up through November, expectations of the rate increase firmed.

The dollar surged sharply to $1.0721 per one euro, its strongest level since April, and US bond yields jumped, the 10-year Treasury rising to 2.32 percent from 2.23 percent on Thursday.

There were still some signs of weakness in the October data: the labor force participation rate remained low at 62.4 percent, for example.

And the job creation and wage gains averaged out over the past three months suggest steadiness, rather than an acceleration, economists said.

But other indicators were mostly positive: decreases in the number of people forced to work part-time and a slight rise in the employment-to-population ratio, for example.

"The Fed's hawks will now argue that they have hard evidence in the most widely watched... data that the tightness of the labor market is pushing wage gains higher. Barring a disaster in November, rates are going to rise in December," said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"The case for tightening in December -- and a lot more in 2016 -- looks increasingly strong," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics.

http://news.yahoo.com/people-hiv-could-soon-stay-214742500.html
People With HIV Could Soon Stay Healthy — Without Taking Any Pills
11/7/15

A needle may be the answer for those Americans living with HIV, for whom treatment is a hard pill to swallow.

In the trial backed by Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline, people living with the virus were given a shot containing two drugs every four or eight weeks. At both intervals, the shot worked just as well as people who were taking three pills per day to suppress their virus, Reuters reports. 

Paul Stoffels, head of pharmaceuticals at Johnson & Johnson, told Reuters that the findings were "transformational" in the fight against HIV. Stoffels said he believed the long-acting injection could help improve the lives of those living with HIV by 2020.

The numbers: The study found that 94% of participants who received the monthly injection were viral suppressed 32 weeks into the trial, and 95% or those who got the shot every two months. By comparison, 91% of people on pill-based regimens achieved an undetectable viral load, according to Reuters.

The human immunodeficiency virus takes over a body's white blood cells and turns them into factories that make more HIV. Those white blood cells, which fight off disease, are no longer able to do so. The number of viral copies in a person's body is called someone's viral load.

When HIV treatment is successful, a person is considered to be HIV undetectable, meaning the amount of virus in their blood is not able to be detected by many tests. Being HIV undetectable significantly reduces the chance of transmitting the virus.

Public health benefits: A 2014 PARTNER study found that, out of hundreds of thousands of sex acts between thousands of mixed-status couples, not one person contracted HIV from their partner. In each couple, the HIV-positive partner was undetectable and couples involved did not use condoms 100% of the time.

Currently, about 50,000 people each year are diagnosed with HIV. Of those 50,000 infections, 91% are the result of an HIV-positive person not knowing their status or not being in care.

One of the trial drugs, rilpivirine (Edurant), is already widely used to treat HIV. The second, cabotegravir, is still being studied by the FDA.

Having an alternative method of helping people stay HIV undetectable is important for public health and the personal health of those living with the virus. Currently, only 30% of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S. are undetectable.

What makes a person non-adherent to their medications differs from person to person. Everything from having to take too many pills to not having enough food to eat is associated with HIV treatment failure. One 2012 study also showed that poverty, as well as the stress associated with poverty, is a huge deterrent to staying undetectable and healthy.

James Gill: Polls show gay rights good for business in Louisiana
11/14/15
One of the classic stories at my old paper concerned the visitor who, seeking a reporter by that name, asked, “Which one is Gay?”

Looking around, the editor on duty said, “Take your pick.”

The makeup of the staff certainly proved that sexual orientation had not been a factor in hiring.

Of workplace discrimination there was no sign either; with that many gay people around, it would have taken some organizing anyway.

But that was in liberal old New Orleans, and experience elsewhere was much different. Indeed, it still is, so, once again, the call goes up for legislation to give Louisiana gay people an even break. Justice may demand it, but it isn’t going to happen. It is a law of nature that bills protecting what we must nowadays call the LGBT community die in committee.

Gene Mills, head of the Louisiana Family Forum, is always on hand to give legislators their instructions and lead the way to put the kibosh on any push for equal rights. Treating gays like other citizens would evidently displease the Lord as much as telling biology teachers that Genesis is not an approved textbook.

Gay rights is not an issue in any debate between the gubernatorial candidates, U.S. Sen. David Vitter and state Rep. John Bel Edwards, and, when the Legislature next convenes, all eyes will be on the budget and tax reform. The Williams Institute at UCLA, the latest to take up for Louisiana’s gays, is no doubt crying in the wilderness. Still, its conclusions are not to be denied.

Although only 4 percent of Americans place themselves in the LGBT camp, that translates into some pretty big numbers. Louisiana, according to UCLA, has 117,000 gay adults, 88,400 of them in the workforce. Most of us surely have acquaintances or relations who would be covered if a state law were enacted protecting gays from employment discrimination.

There are places in Louisiana where gay people are supposed to have the same right to make a living as the rest of us. New Orleans, of course, has an ordinance to that effect, but the only other city similarly enlightened is Shreveport. Together, New Orleans and Shreveport contain 13 percent of the state workforce.

A few other local governments prohibit discrimination against their own employees, and several corporations and universities do the same. According to UCLA, businesses do not necessarily adopt such policies out of altruism, for they have been shown to aid “recruitment and retention of talented employees” as well as “increasing employee productivity and customer satisfaction, and attracting a larger customer base.”

Maybe, if word gets around that doing the decent thing might be worth a few bucks, the idea will spread.

Right now, though, being gay in Louisiana can be enough to put you out of a job, or stop you from getting one in the first place, as the Williams Institute demonstrates with several examples. One is the Waffle House employee who alleged wrongful dismissal and filed a federal lawsuit in 2010 only to lose on grounds that the Civil Rights Act, though it bans sex discrimination, is silent on the gay issue.

The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, in light of subsequent jurisprudence, now says on its website that the Civil Right Act is “interpreted” as banning discrimination “on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” so a similarly placed plaintiff might fare better today. Still, by no means every victim of discrimination can find the time and money for a federal court action.

The easiest way to provide some recourse would clearly be to expand Louisiana’s law against employment discrimination to include sexual orientation, so that complaints could be investigated by the state Human Rights Commission.

The Family Forum and its lackeys in Baton Rouge appear to be out of step with public opinion here; the Williams Institute polls show 74 percent of Louisiana respondents in favor of laws to “prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

One day, when someone asks, “Which one is gay?” the automatic answer will be, “Who cares?”

James Gill’s email address is jgill@theadvocate.com.

http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/13962313-123/james-gill-gay-rights-good

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-november-employment-report-seen-cementing-rate-hike-052252451--business.html
12/4/15
Solid U.S. employment report a green light for Dec rate hike

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth increased solidly in November in a show of the economy's resilience, which most likely paves the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month for the first time in nearly a decade.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 211,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. September and October data was revised to show 35,000 more jobs than previously reported.

The unemployment rate held at a 7-1/2-year low of 5 percent, even as people returned to the labor force in a sign of confidence in the jobs market. The jobless rate is in a range many Fed officials see as consistent with full employment and has dropped seven-tenths of a percentage point this year.

"We cleared the last hurdle for a rate increase. The Fed was looking for some positive movement on wages, and we got a little bit of that. There is absolutely nothing in this report that will keep the Fed from raising rates," said Chris Gaffney, president at EverBank World Markets in St. Louis.

The closely watched employment report came a day after Fed Chair Janet Yellen struck an upbeat note on the economy when she testified before lawmakers, describing how it had largely met the criteria the U.S. central bank has set for the Fed's first rate hike since June 2006.

Yellen said the economy needs to create just under 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with growth in the working age population.

The Fed's policy-setting committee will meet on Dec. 15-16. Market-based measures of Fed policy expectations assign a probability of 79.1 percent to the central bank's raising interest rates at that meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch site.

The dollar extended gains against a basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. government bonds fell. U.S. stock futures extended gains.

The second month of strong job gains should allay fears the economy has hit a soft patch, after reports showing tepid consumer spending in October and a slowdown in services industry growth in November. Manufacturing contracted in November for the first time in three years.

Though wage growth slowed last month, economists say that was mostly payback for October's outsized gains, which were driven by a calendar quirk. Anecdotal evidence, as well as data on labor-related costs, suggest that tightening job market conditions are starting to put upward pressure on wages.

Average hourly earnings increased four cents, or 0.2 percent from 0.4 percent in October. That lowered the year-on-year reading to 2.3 percent from 2.5 percent in October. The average workweek, however, dipped to 34.5 hours from 34.6.

Other labor market measures that Fed officials are eyeing as they consider lifting the benchmark overnight interest rate from near zero were mixed.

The labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, rose to 62.5 percent from a near 38-year low of 62.4 percent.

But a broad measure of joblessness that includes people who want to work but have given up searching and those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.9 percent.

Employment gains in November were broad-based, though manufacturing shed 1,000 positions and mining lost 11,000 jobs.

Manufacturing has been crippled by a strong dollar, efforts by businesses to reduce bloated inventory and spending cuts by energy companies scaling back well drilling and exploration in response to sharply lower oil prices.

Mining employment has declined by 123,000 since reaching a peak in December 2014. Three quarters of the job losses over this period have been in support activities for mining.

Oilfield services provider Schlumberger <SLB.N> this week announced another round of job cuts in addition to 20,000 layoffs already reported this year. The company said it expected the slowdown in drilling activity to continue in 2016.

Construction payrolls increased 46,000 last month. With 163,000 jobs added, the services sector accounted for the bulk of the increase in employment last month. Retail jobs rose 30,700 and transportation and warehousing employment rebounded after two straight months of declines.

Professional services added 27,000 jobs and government payrolls increased 14,000 last month.

https://www.yahoo.com/health/us-abortion-rate-hits-record-low-233610819.html
12/11/15
U.S. Abortion Rate Hits Record Low

The U.S. abortion rate has declined by 35 percent over two decades, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released today (Dec. 11). The current rate is the lowest ever recorded since the government began tracking abortion data in the mid-1970s.

In 1990, the abortion rate was 27.4 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. In 2010, the most recent year analyzed in the study, the rate dropped to 16.7 per 1,000 women, the report shows.

During the same time period, pregnancy rates decreased by 10 percent, reaching a record low. Teen pregnancies declined significantly, by 67 percent among those younger than 15, and 50 percent among teens 15 to 19.

The rate of abortions and live births both declined between 1990 and 2010, according to government data. (Source: CDC/NCHS)

Updated estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that the abortion rate has declined even further. In 2012, the most recent year CDC data is available, the abortion rate was 13.2 per 1,000 women.

By all measures, the abortion rate is at a historic low, the CDC says. More than 90 percent of abortions occur early in pregnancy, by or before 13 weeks’ gestation, according to CDC data.

Increased use of effective contraceptive methods is one of the major contributors to the decline in abortion rates, says study co-author Kathryn Kost, principal research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute.

“Across the states, the rate of unintended pregnancy is going down,” Kost says. “That suggests that fewer women are getting pregnant when they don’t want to. It’s happening across the board, and affects the birth rate and the abortion rate.”

The NCHS report includes birth data from the National Vital Statistics System, abortion information from the Abortion Surveillance System and Guttmacher Institute, and numbers on fetal loss from the National Survey of Family Growth.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/rockwall-rowlett/headlines/20160103-rowlett-churches-are-stronger-together-after-tornadoes.ece
1/3/16
Rowlett churches are stronger together after tornadoes

ROWLETT — Brian Hiatt jumped in his Ford pickup. The storm was roiling toward his church, toward his friends.

The pastor, his wife and their 20-year-old son raced from their Mesquite home. That night, they found Cornerstone Assembly of God intact.

But nearby on Schrade Road, the twister showed no mercy. It left neighbors amid rubble and in the dark.

Cornerstone had generators. Hiatt grabbed a string of white Christmas lights and slung them under the awning of the front building.

“I plugged them in so we could at least give a beacon of light to let people know we were here,” he said.

Only a father and son sought refuge in the church gym. But in the days that followed, Cornerstone and other Rowlett sanctuaries transformed into busy relief centers. All week, volunteers delivered meals to tornado victims and dispensed tubs filled with groceries and cleaning supplies. First responders came, too, looking for a place to rest.

As they filled immediate physical needs, churches also worked on giving people spiritual direction. The rash of tornadoes Dec. 26 killed 11 people in Dallas and Collin counties and left many homeless. What to make of this tragedy?

On Sunday, eight days after the storm, Pastor Alonzo Johnson slashed the air with his hands as he preached.

“Always look for the good in a bad situation,” he shouted.

The roof of his sanctuary — Faith Missionary Family Church on Garner Road — was covered in blue tarp, so Hiatt invited Johnson’s congregation to Cornerstone.

Many faithful in Rowlett have found comfort in knowing no one was killed in this city of 58,000, where the tornado destroyed nearly 150 homes. They talk about the overwhelming number of donations, the stronger bonds with neighbors, the opportunities to reorder priorities.

Yet often in the days after the storm, people at the churches offered solace quietly, with a cup of coffee or a long embrace.

The tornado knocked the steeple off Faith Missionary. But in the dark, Johnson didn’t realize the winds had also torn the roof and pushed in the back wall.

Even after taking stock of the damage, Johnson believes God saved his church.

“You might shake it, God might let you hit it, but you can’t knock it down,” he said with a laugh.

To the north, First Christian Church Rowlett narrowly missed the beating near Miller Road. Leaders soon opened the church to first responders and others who needed coffee or a restroom.

As the storm’s destruction became clear in daylight, worshippers hauled in donations to churches across the city. Within two days, volunteers began preparing barbecue meals at First Christian Church and taking them to the neighborhoods.

At First Rowlett United Methodist Church, some people gasped when they heard the names of members who had lost their homes the previous night.

Next door, at First Baptist Church Rowlett, the pastor recruited helpers. He hadn’t finished talking when Kay Nicholson raised her hand.

A group from Richardson dropped off 241 plastic tubs and $5,000 in gift cards at First Baptist. Nicholson oversaw the delivery after the pastor appointed her relief effort coordinator. She shuffled back and forth, deploying helpers, filling out spreadsheets and talking to tornado victims seeking aid.

One of the people that Nicholson sent to the church’s fellowship hall was Ioana Grigorescu, a soft-spoken 68-year-old from Romania. The tornado shredded homes on her Rowlett street like cardboard.

Volunteer Carol Smith pushed a utility cart as she gently guided Grigorescu through the church’s makeshift grocery store. Grigorescu took the aloe vera soap that promised to be soft on her hands and picked a deodorant for her husband. Smith loaded a magenta tub with tea, oatmeal, ramen noodle bowls and crackers.

“Anything else you can think of?” Smith asked.

Grigorescu, who looked on the verge of tears, gave her a weak smile.

“It’s too much,” she said.

“It’s not too much,” Smith told her. Then she pulled Grigorescu into a hug.

Several churches turned their spaces into pantries and closets.

Members of First Christian Church piled jeans, shirts and baby onesies on rows of upholstered chairs in the sanctuary. Folded blankets sat next to poinsettias.

At First United Methodist, the family room was so full of tables with donations that volunteers sometimes bumped their carts into them.

On Friday, Arthur Bailey crouched down to fish a pack of three toothbrushes out of a box. While Bailey and his wife weren’t looking, volunteer Cheryl Goczoll stuffed a paper sack with bath towels.

Bailey picked up a tub of toothpaste. Goczoll grabbed three and tossed them in his container.

“Not a word out of you,” she warned Bailey politely, staving off his objections.

Bailey, who has a 13-year-old daughter, said it was hard to ask for help. The tornado ripped his home and damaged his three cars. His insurance policy doesn’t reimburse car rentals because he never thought he’d need one.

The family is living out of a hotel room in Rockwall. Bailey, a retired schoolteacher, said he can bear it because of his faith.

“I think I’m a strong person, too,” he said. “Maybe it’s better it’s me than somebody else who is weaker than me.”

More than 300 people streamed into First Baptist on Sunday after a hectic week. The sanctuary rang with applause for the volunteers.

Two church members were baptized during the service. Both came to the pastor after the tornadoes.

Churchgoers danced and sang from the pews at Cornerstone. Hiatt and Johnson stood next to each other — one in jeans, the other in a pinstripe suit — and lifted their hands in praise. Johnson received a $1,000 check from his hosts to help restore Faith Missionary.

He thanked God for the rain.

“Entire churches are going out there sharing and caring,” he said from the pulpit. “Why did it have to take a storm?”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-adds-strong-292k-jobs-133122852.html
US added strong 292K jobs last month; jobless rate at 5 pct.
1/8/16

WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers added a robust 292,000 jobs in December, suggesting that the U.S. economy is so far defying global weakness and growing solidly.

The strong figures underscore the resilience of the United States at a time of financial turmoil stemming from China's slowing economy and plummeting stock market. Most economists expect U.S. consumer spending to continue to offset overseas weakness, though many foresee only modest U.S. growth.

In its monthly jobs report Friday, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate remained 5 percent in December for a third straight month. More Americans started looking for jobs and succeeded in finding them.

The government also said employers added a combined 50,000 more jobs in October and November than it had previously estimated. For the July-September quarter, hiring averaged 284,000 a month — the best three-month pace in a year.

Even as many more jobs have been added, the unemployment rate has held at 5 percent over the past three months because nearly a million more Americans have begun looking for jobs since September.

U.S. stocks rose modestly after the jobs report was issued, with the Dow Jones industrial average up about 48 points after falling sharply all week.

"The economy is reflected most strongly in the jobs numbers — and it's doing OK, maybe better than OK," said David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance.

For all of 2015, employers added 2.65 million jobs, a monthly average of 221,000. That made 2015 the second-best year for hiring since 1999, after 2014's gain of 3.2 million jobs.

"2015 went out with a megabang," says Patrick O'Keefe, director of economic research at the accounting and consulting firm CohnReznick. "It speaks to the underlying strength of the domestic economy. The United State is intertwined with the international economy but to a far lesser degree than many other countries."

O'Keefe noted that global trade accounts for only about 30 percent of U.S. economic activity, one of the lowest such percentages in the world.

Beth Ann Bovino, U.S. chief economist at Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, said the actions the U.S. government took amid the financial meltdown in 2008 are still paying off and should continue to shield the slow and steady recovery this year from the global weakness.

The groundwork for that stability stems in part from the record-low interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve, as well as policies such as the "cash for clunkers" program, the payroll-tax holiday and the business investment tax credit that helped energize the economy years ago.

"Because the U.S. government and the Fed early on gave support for this recovery, we've been able to withstand any bumps along the road," Bovino said.

View galleryUS added strong 292K jobs last month; jobless rate&nbsp;&hellip;
In this April 22, 2015 photo, Ralph Logan, general manager of Microtrain, left, speaks with James S …
Even as demand for workers grew, average hourly pay slipped a penny in December to $25.24 an hour. Still, average pay has risen 2.5 percent in the past year, only the second time since the Great Recession ended in mid-2009 that it has reached that level. At the same time, pay growth remains below the roughly 3.5 percent pace typical of a healthy economy.

Last month, the percentage of adults with jobs rose for a second straight month, though it remains below pre-recession levels. And many of the new jobs were in higher-paying industries: Construction added 45,000, health care nearly 53,000. Professional and business services, which includes accountants, engineers, and architects as well as lower-paid temporary workers, added 73,000 positions.

The solid jobs report could raise the likelihood that the Fed will further raise rates after announcing its first increase in nearly a decade last month. Steady hiring would reduce the supply of people seeking jobs, which could lead to higher wages and possibly lift inflation closer to the Fed's 2 percent target.Many economists expect the Fed to raise its benchmark rate three times this year.

Still, Friday's report contained no signs of inflation. Average hourly earnings fell by a penny between November and December to $25.24.

For months, U.S. employers have hired steadily even as global growth has flagged and financial markets have sunk. Stronger customer demand has given most businesses confidence to hire even though some sectors — notably manufacturing and oil and gas drilling — are struggling.

Still, stumbling growth in countries like China, the world's second-largest economy, and financial market turmoil might pose long-term challenges for the U.S. economy.

The dollar has climbed about 10 percent in value in the past year compared with overseas currencies. That has made U.S. goods more expensive globally while lowering the price of imported products.

U.S. manufacturers added 30,000 jobs last year, a marked decline from 2014. Yet it makes up just 10 percent of the U.S. economy and oil and gas drilling even less.

For now, Americans are confident enough to buy homes. Sales of newly built homes jumped nearly 15 percent in 2015 and helped spur building and construction hiring: Construction companies added 215,000 jobs last year, a 3.4 percent gain.

In another sign of consumer health, auto sales rose to a record high last year as cheap gas and low interest rates led to booming sales of SUVs and pickup trucks.

http://news.yahoo.com/declares-worst-ever-ebola-outbreak-over-092344314.html
1/14/16
WHO declares Ebola outbreak over

Monrovia (AFP) - The world breathed a sigh of relief Thursday as a two-year Ebola epidemic that killed 11,000 and triggered a global health alert was declared over, with Liberia the last country given the all-clear.

The deadliest outbreak in the history of the feared tropical virus wrecked the economies and health systems of the three worst-hit west African nations after it emerged in southern Guinea in December 2013.

At its peak, it devastated Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with bodies piling up in the streets and overwhelmed hospitals recording hundreds of new cases a week.

Rick Brennan, the World Health Organization's chief of emergency risk management, hailed an important milestone but told reporters in Geneva that "the job is still not done", pointing out that there had already been 10 small flare-ups because of the persistance of the virus in survivors.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned the region can expect sporadic cases in the coming year but added "we also expect the potential and frequency of those flare-ups to decrease over time".

Reaction to the announcement was muted in Monrovia, where locals have become accustomed to good news on Ebola being followed by setbacks, and there was no official programme of celebration.

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https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/generation-z-earn-outwork-rest-090017938.html
8/31/16
Generation Z will out-earn and outwork the rest of us

Move over millennials, there’s a new workaholic generation in town.

Generation Z, currently in school and the early years of college, is more willing to work longer hours and weekends than their elders are, according to a recently released report by Monster Worldwide Inc., the job-search firm. The data was gathered in January by research agency TNS, which surveyed members of Generation Z from age 15-20.

Of more than 2,000 people surveyed, 58 percent of Generation Zers said they would come into work on evenings and weekends in exchange for a bigger paycheck, compared with 45 percent of millennials, 40 percent of Generation X, and 33 percent of boomers. That’s not entirely surprising: They’ve got youth on their side and are generally not burdened with child-care responsibilities that make working irregular hours difficult for their generational predecessors.

Among the generations, Zers surveyed were the most motivated by money, although 74 percent of them said work should have a greater purpose than earning a salary, compared to 45 percent of millennials, 40 percent of Generation X, and 33 percent of boomers.

Brands seeking to recruit young blood should consider forgoing the beer fridge and ping pong table in exchange for a good old-fashioned health plan. While Gen Z might be more energetic and money-hungry than the rest, its first job requirements are reminiscent of generations before them. Seventy percent of those surveyed said their top priority is health insurance, followed by a competitive wage, a boss they respect, room for growth, and parental leave.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/06/politics/obama-approval-rating-new-high/index.html
10/6/16
Obama approval hits new high

(CNN)President Barack Obama's approval rating stands at 55% in a new CNN/ORC poll, the highest mark of his second term, and matching his best at any time since his first year in office.

The new rating outpaces his previous second-term high -- reached just after a Democratic convention that extolled the successes of his presidency -- by one point, and hits a level he's reached just twice since the end of his first year in office: In January 2013 just before his second inauguration and in January 2011.

The new poll continues a streak in which Obama's approval rating has been at 50% or higher in CNN/ORC polls since February, a seven month run that is his longest since 2009. And taken together, Obama's approval ratings in 2016 average 51% so far in CNN/ORC polls, his best mark since that first year in office.

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http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/07/news/economy/obama-15-million-jobs/index.html
10/7/16
The Obama economy has now created 15 million jobs

President Obama is now taking credit for creating 15 million jobs.

That's how many new jobs have been created since the dark days of the Great Recession. Another solid month of hiring in September has brought the tally to over 15 million non-farm jobs.

"Anyone claiming that America's economy is in decline is peddling fiction," President Obama said in his State of the Union address earlier this year. His critics counter that this is the slowest recovery since WW II.

This week Obama fought back at his detractors. He said his team has created a "more durable, growing economy" with "15 million new private-sector jobs since early 2010" in an essay in The Economist. Democrat Tim Kaine also used the 15 million jobs talking point in the vice presidential debate.

But Obama is using the most generous accounting possible to get that figure.

He doesn't start the count from his first day in office in 2009. Instead, he begins calculating job gains from February 2010, which was the lowest point for employment in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Under 130 million people were working then, according to U.S. Department of Labor. Now there are almost 145 million employed Americans.

CNNMoney used the Obama methodology (lowest employment point to highest) to see how he stacks up against recent presidents.

The result: Obama is still behind Presidents Clinton (22.9 million) and Reagan (18.1 million), but he's left President George W. Bush (8.2 million) in the dust.

So what happens when you start the clock on Obama's first day of office?

If you do that, Obama can only take credit for 10.8 million new jobs. He also looks a bit worse compared to Reagan and Clinton.

Some make the case that the Obama jobs clock should start in February 2009 since the president only takes office on January 20 and that was a terrible month for job losses. Starting in February yields 11.5 million new jobs created under Obama.

"It's obviously a political question, because it's a judgment about whether he was responsible for any or all of those 4.3 million jobs lost during his first 13 months in office, or just for the 15 million jobs added thereafter," says Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

Achuthan doesn't take a stance on which method is better.

The Obama administration says the job gains clock shouldn't start until 2010 because it took time for the president's policies to take effect to get the country out of the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Obama has played up job growth in interviews and speeches about his legacy because it's been particularly strong in recent years. In many ways, hiring has been the highlight of the recovery. Economic growth overall has been mediocre, and wages haven't picked up much (at least for the middle class).

"President Obama has tried to walk something of a narrow line along the lines of: We've made progress, but we still have work to do," says Mark Hamrick, senior economist analyst at Bankrate.com.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/28/news/economy/us-economic-growth-gdp-third-quarter/index.html
10/28/16
U.S. economy posts best growth in 2 years

America finally got some good economic growth.

The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.9% annual rate from July through September compared with the same time a year ago -- the fastest economic growth in two years.

It was the last reading on economic growth before the election, and it came as welcome news: Growth was sluggish in the first half of the year, averaging just above 1%.

 "This shows that the U.S. is roughly on track. It's a natural bounce back following a pretty underwhelming year so far," says Luke Bartholomew, fixed income investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management.

While the economy gained momentum in the third quarter, growth this year comes in at 1.7% -- still slow compared with historical standards.

Related: Why Trump resonates: 'middle skill' workers' wages plummet

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, released a statement calling the quarterly growth "modest." Economists took a brighter view: Barclays and the research firm High Frequency Economics called it solid.

Trump also said that economic growth over the past year has been "dismal." He has promised economic growth of 4% if he is elected president, but economists surveyed by CNNMoney say that is unrealistic.

For the third quarter, American shoppers continued to drive growth, while business spending was less of a drag. Consumer confidence hit a nine-year high in September, according to the Conference Board.

Another big boost to growth in the quarter was trade, a central issue for Trump, who has threatened to impose tariffs against Mexico and China and tear up free trade deals like NAFTA.

Exports grew by 10% in the quarter, the best pace in nearly three years. A huge jump in shipments of soybeans explained much of the increase in exports, economists say. China has been one of the biggest buyers of U.S. soybeans. American agricultural exports to China have increased by 200% over the past decade, according to the USDA.

Again, the pickup in exports is good news, but it's not likely to last.

"It looks like a temporary boost," says Bricklin Dwyer, chief U.S. economist at BNP Paribas. "You can't keep shipping whole heaps of soybeans, but it's certainly not bad news."

Related: Millions in gig economy can't find better pay or jobs

For much of the year, businesses had lots of unsold items sitting in the back room, which worked against growth. This factor, also known as inventories, didn't hold growth back in the third quarter.

Businesses really cut back spending on new equipment, sales of which were down 2.7%. Although some experts debate whether the uncertainty of the election could be weighing down business spending, it's declined for four straight quarters. Many economists believe other factors, like a strong dollar and sluggish global economy, play bigger roles in the equipment cutback.

Solid growth numbers help clear the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at the end of this year. Sluggish growth, and a bad jobs report in May, held the Fed back from raising rates earlier this year, among other reasons. The Fed is expected to raise rates in December.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN12V1BM
U.S. consumer spending ends third-quarter with strong momentum
10/31/16

U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in September as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles and inflation increased steadily, which could bolster expectations of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in December.

The Commerce Department said on Monday that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, increased 0.5 percent after dipping 0.1 percent in August. Last month's rise in consumer spending offered a fairly strong handoff from the third quarter to the current quarter.

The report was published ahead of the start of the Fed's two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. The U.S. central bank is not expected to raise rates at this meeting, which comes about a week before the Nov. 8 presidential election, but is expected to do so in December.

"The latest data should be of comfort to the Fed. Spending continues to underpin growth and, combined with positive developments on the labor market and inflation, should enable the Fed to tighten policy in December," said Greg Daco, head of U.S. macroeconomics at Oxford Economics in New York.

Economists had forecast consumer spending rising 0.4 percent last month. When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending rose 0.3 percent after falling 0.2 percent in August.

The spending figures were incorporated into last Friday's report on third-quarter gross domestic product. Consumer spending increased at a 2.1 percent annual pace after advancing at a robust 4.3 percent rate in the prior period.

A separate report on Monday showed factory activity in the U.S. Midwest hit a five-month low in October amid declining production and weak growth in new orders. The report from the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago suggests prolonged weakness in manufacturing as the sector continues to deal with the aftermath of a dollar rally and lower oil prices.

U.S. stocks were trading marginally higher as investors showed caution ahead of next Tuesday's elections. The dollar .DXY rose against a basket of currencies, while U.S. Treasury yields fell.

INFLATION TICKING HIGHER

Consumer spending combined with a spurt in soybean exports and a turnaround in inventory investment to boost economic growth to a 2.9 percent pace in the third quarter. The economy grew at a 1.4 percent rate in the April-June quarter.

Rising wages due to a tightening labor market should help support consumer spending. With consumer spending firming, inflation continued to gain steadily last month. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 0.2 percent after a similar gain in August.

In the 12 months through September the PCE price index rose 1.2 percent, the biggest gain since November 2014, after advancing 1.0 percent in August.

Excluding food and energy, the so-called core PCE price index rose 0.1 percent after advancing 0.2 percent in August. In the 12 months through September the core PCE rose 1.7 percent after a similar increase in August.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4prCwJ4wmQ

As I said in another thread, I believe during the early part of Trump's presidency, there could be a period of "prosperity". Everything back to usual, economy great again, everyone "getting along", etc. All that went on the last 15 years, especially the last 8 under Obama (ie, FEMA Camps, Martial Law, 501c3 churches forced to twist Romans 13, big cities getting nuked, etc) was nothing but one big psyop. Now I'm slowly hearing KJB/watchmen ministries getting on the scoffing bandwagon. (ie, saying how God gave this country a "reprieve")

As for Hillary - will say this much - she was nothing but a SMOKESCREEN for the last 25 years. She was basically your typical "gossip chatter" at daily soccer mom's gatherings, to put distraction blocks against more important issues going on (ie, she got tons of mainstream celebrity attention during this long time span). I don't think the Vatican had any intentions to put her in office.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/as-trump-prepares-for-white-house-never-trumpers-say-maybe/ar-AAkybHb?li=AA5a8k&ocid=spartandhp
As Trump prepares for White House, Never Trumpers say maybe

WASHINGTON — During the course of the 2016 campaign, Republican Christine Todd Whitman compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. She warned that a Trump administration would bring the country into "chaos." And a month before Election Day, the former Bush Cabinet official proclaimed her support for Hillary Clinton.

Now, when young Republicans ask her whether they should join the Trump administration, Whitman struggles to find a simple answer.

"I'd sound a note of caution," says the former Environmental Protection Agency head. "They're going to have to carry out what the president wants done."

Dozens of Republican foreign policy experts, business leaders and elected officials broke party ranks to come out against Trump during the contentious presidential race. Now, they're facing a difficult choice: Get on the Trump train or watch it leave from the station.

"Look, he's the president," said Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, a Trump backer. "People are going to want to do everything they can to work closely with him."

The 2012 Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, who once called Trump "a phony" and "a fraud," is a leading contender for secretary of state. Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, long Trump's loudest critic in the Senate, has urged his Republican followers to root for Trump And South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, also under consideration for secretary of state, met with Trump on Thursday. While she eventually voted for him, Haley had criticized his Muslim travel ban and complained that she was "not a fan." Trump, in turn, tweeted that she "embarrassed" her state.

Sasse and other Trump antagonists in Congress are looking to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, a former Indiana congressman and the state's governor, as a possible conduit to the administration.

The bridge-building is far more challenging for generations of Republicans who have spent eight years biding their time at think tanks, universities and corporations. But unlike in a typical campaign, when the party rallies behind their nominee, a number of these experts had spent months publicly blasting Trump.

Whether Trump will welcome these former opponents into his administration remains unclear. Trump and his team must fill more than 4,000 jobs, a daunting task for a president-elect with no experience in federal government. And the real-estate mogul is known for his ability to hold a grudge — a trait that worries some job-seekers.

Those concerns are particularly acute for national security experts, dozens of whom signed letters warning that Trump would "put at risk our country's national security and well-being."

Peter Feaver, a Bush era White House aide who signed both letters, did not expect that Trump would hire anyone involved with the effort, saying they were "effectively on a blacklist." But he said that the new administration could still pick from a sizable group of former Republican foreign policy officials who were not signatories.

He's urging them to consider taking a post, both to shape the policies of the new administration and advance their own careers.

"He is our president and if he asks you to serve the country, you shouldn't reflectively say 'no,' " said Feaver, a professor at Duke University. "I have actively encouraged people I know who are good to throw their name in the hat because I want to help this team assemble the best team they can."

Since the election, there's been some informal contact between those who spoke out against Trump and the people trying to staff his administration. The conversations haven't always gone well.

"I'm a little leery from what I have heard of the reaction of the people around him who seem to be a little more of the, 'We won. You lost. Don't try to horn in on our act,'" Whitman said. "That's just counterproductive."

Those reports have sparked a debate within some Republican circles about whether patriotic duty should outweigh concerns about Trump's management style.

Eliot Cohen, the former State Department official who coordinated the first letter, said he was asked by a friend close to Trump's team to suggest potential appointees who might be willing to work in the administration.

He was so turned off by the response to his advice that it prompted him to pen an op-ed declaring that he'd changed his mind: Conservatives, he wrote in The Washington Post, should opt out of serving.

"For a garden-variety Republican policy specialist, service in the early phase of the administration would carry a high risk of compromising one's integrity and reputation," he wrote.

Not everyone agrees. Eric Edelman, a national security adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney, said he didn't expect to get a call from the new administration given that he was a vocal critic of Trump during the campaign.

He's advising others to at least hear out the offer, saying that "patriotism requires you to do it." But he isn't offering any recommendations.

"I don't want to pick out any names," he said. "I don't want to run the risk of damaging them with my association."

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-popular-poll-231694
11/21/16
Poll: Trump's popularity soars after election

Donald Trump’s popularity is rising in the days since his election, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll of registered voters.

Forty-six percent of voters now have a very favorable or somewhat favorable opinion of the president-elect. Twelve percent have a somewhat unfavorable opinion and 34 percent have a very unfavorable opinion of him.

It’s a dramatic uptick since the election. Trump’s favorability has grown 9 points, 37 percent to 46 percent, compared to a Morning Consult poll right before the election -- while his unfavorability has dropped 15 points, from 61 percent to 46 percent.

President Barack Obama’s approval rating is also up. Fifty-four percent of voters approve of the job Obama is doing, while 43 percent disapprove. That’s up from 50 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving of Obama before the election.

"Trump’s favorability among voters has reached new highs since he became president-elect,” said Morning Consult cofounder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp. "This honeymoon phase in common for new presidents. For example, Obama saw about a 20 point swing in his favor following the 2008 election."

Trump is also getting high marks for his transition effort. Nineteen percent of those polled believe it is more organized than past efforts and another 34 percent believe the transition is about the same, according to the poll that Morning Consult conducted Nov. 16-18.

"About half say Donald Trump's presidential transition is as organized or more organized than previous administrations, whereas about one in three describe it as less organized than past transitions,' said Dropp, though he noted that “many of the initial transition picks including Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions are still largely unknown to Americans."

More than half of the respondents had never heard of, or had no opinion, about Trump’s chief of staff Priebus, chief strategist Bannon or Sessions, the Alabama senator who is Trump’s pick for attorney general.

Still, three in 10 believe that Priebus was a strong choice as chief of staff (27 percent say it was weak). Only two in 10 believe Bannon was a strong choice (34 percent say it was weak).

The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll surveyed 1,885 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Thirty-three percent of likely voters self-identified as Democrats, 32 percent as independents and 33 percent as Republicans.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/dow-breaks-above-19-000-s-p-jumps-over-2-n687161

Dow Breaks Above 19,000, S&P Jumps Over 2,200 as Stocks Hit Record Highs
11/22/16

by Fred Imbert, CNBC

U.S. equities opened higher on Tuesday, hitting new all-time highs, as investors awaited housing data and kept an eye on President-elect Donald Trump's policy agenda.

The Dow Jones industrial average broke above 19,000 for the first time ever shortly after the open, with Boeing contributing the most gains. The S&P 500 traded over 2,200 for the first time, as real estate and energy led advancers. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 percent, also trading at fresh record highs.

"Global equity markets are reacting positively to new all-time highs in the SPX," said Katie Stockton, chief technical strategist at BTIG, in a note. "Momentum is proving strong enough to overrule overbought conditions, so we think it is appropriate to be buying breakouts."

The three major indexes closed at record levels on Wednesday, along with the small-caps Russell 2000, which continues to outperform the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq since Nov. 8.

But "don't forget, we spend about three months consolidating before this breakout after the election," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird. "From a time standpoint, this may be just the beginning."

"We are in a transition period on a number of fronts. First, we're moving from an interest-rate driven market into an earnings-driven market," he said. "Also, something most people are missing, is we're getting a more business-friendly administration."

Related: How Trump's Business Interests Present Huge Conflicts of Interest

The Federal Reserve has indicated numerous times its desire to normalize monetary policy, and it's all but certain the central bank will take a step in that direction next month. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, market expectations for an interest rate hike in December were more than 100 percent.

Meanwhile, S&P 500 earnings grew for the first time in more than a year. According to data compiled by The Earnings Scout, earnings per share had grown 6.21 percent as of Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Stocks have also been bolstered by Trump's surprising win over Democrat Hillary Clinton, as expectations for deregulation in a number of sectors and tax cuts have increased optimism in the U.S. stock market.

On Monday, Trump expanded on his policy agenda, which includes withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The trade pact was a centerpiece of the Obama administration's "pivot" towards Asia and was meant to solidify the U.S.'s presence in what is considered by many American companies as the most economically dynamic part in the world.

In economic news, existing home sales data for October are due at 10 a.m. There are no other major data due Tuesday, but Wednesday will see several reports released, as the U.S. will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

"The commuter trains should start thinning out by this afternoon as traders take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday. The price action for the next several days should therefore put investors to sleep which will preclude the reprise of any deleterious amount of volatility," Jeremy Klein, chief market strategist at FBN Securities, said in a note.

In corporate news, medical equipment maker Medtronic reported mixed quarterly results. Medtronic also cut its full-year forecast, as customers delay purchases ahead of new products entering the marketplace.

Meanwhile, KKR is buying Japanese auto parts maker Calsonic from Nissan Motors and its partners for $4.5 billion.

How US, China military relations could change
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/how-us-china-military-relations-could-change/vi-AAkAPMt?ocid=spartandhp

The United States' military relationship with China could change after Donald Trump becomes president. CNN's Matt Rivers reports.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/22/investing/trump-stock-market-rally-ignores-promises/index.html?iid=hp-toplead-dom
11/22/16
Trump market euphoria forgets scary campaign promises

Wall Street is in heaven these days. Donald Trump's surprise election has led to a rally, carrying the Dow above 19,000 for the first time ever.

The Trump rally has been sparked by hopes that the president-elect will follow through on promises to slash taxes, roll back regulation and ramp up infrastructure spending. Many are betting a focus on these strategies will finally unleash the American economy after years of sluggish growth.

But lost in the post-election euphoria is the fact that this rally has been almost exclusively built on Trump's pro-business campaign promises -- not the ones that frighten many investors.

Trump has also promised to tear up NAFTA, slap big tariffs on China, break up big banks and audit the Federal Reserve -- all events that make the markets very nervous. That's not even counting Trump's unpredictable nature, which suggests years of precisely the uncertainty that investors hate.

"The market seems to be grabbing on to all the prospective good things and ignoring the negative issues lurking out there," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Capital.

Luschini said he's most concerned about Trump's promises to "terminate" NAFTA and the risk that imposing big tariffs on goods from China and Mexico will ricochet back to the American economy.

"Trade is the big one. I'm worried about retaliatory practices by trade partners that could harm multinational revenues," he said.

Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, shares those worries. "We just have to hope Trump doesn't follow through with his trade stuff."

Here's a sampling of the Trump campaign rhetoric that investors seem to be forgetting, or at least hoping won't turn into actual action:

Killing NAFTA: Trump's promise this week to withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a fresh reminder of the anti-trade stance he ran on. Once TPP is officially dead, Trump has pledged to renegotiate or "terminate" NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement that he has called the "worst trade deal in history."

Trump has the power to unilaterally withdraw from this trade deal with Mexico and Canada without the approval of Congress. Economists have warned that doing so would likely cost many U.S. jobs, millions of which depend on free trade with Mexico.

Tariffs could spark trade war: Trump didn't just pledge to end NAFTA, he wants to slap big tariffs on China and Mexico. Again, Trump does have the authority to do this without Congress.

But what would happen if Trump installed 35% tariffs on Mexico and 45% on China, as he's said? Many fear it would spark a tit-for-tat response from trading partners that devolves into a trade war. That is a scary outcome for the market, especially given that about half of S&P 500 revenues are from overseas.

Break up the big banks? Don't let the rally for stocks -- including big banks -- fool you, Trump is no friend to Wall Street. In fact, Trump has advocated for breaking up America's big banks. The GOP platform at this summer's convention called for bringing back the Glass-Steagall Act, the Great Depression-era law that bans banks from serving both Wall Street and Main Street. A return of Glass-Steagall would force mega banks like JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Citigroup (C) to shrink themselves.

Trump's chief strategist, ex-Goldman Sachs banker Steve Bannon, would love this. Bannon told Buzzfeed in 2014 that the Wall Street meltdown was driven by bankers' "greed" and took issue with the fact that bank execs didn't face criminal charges.

Attacking the Federal Reserve: During the campaign, Trump broke from tradition by taking repeated shots at Fed chair Janet Yellen. He claimed Yellen was keeping rates low to help President Obama and "being more political than Secretary Clinton." Trump also backs a GOP push called "Audit the Fed" that would allow the General Accountability Office to review the central bank's monetary policy decisions.

Any legislation that threatens the Fed's independence makes investors uneasy. The worry is the Fed would take orders from politicians, instead of basing interest rate decisions on the goal of a strong job market along with steady inflation. Yellen recently warned that this independence is "critically important" and noted that countries where central banks are "subject to political pressure" have suffered "terrible outcomes."

Deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants: Trump has promised to take a much tougher stance on immigration and even pledged to deport up to 11 million illegal immigrants. But many warn that mass deportations would be extremely divisive and costly for both the government and businesses that rely on these workers. Research at the Wharton School estimates that the plan to deport undocumented workers would result in four million lost jobs by 2030. Luschini, the Janney strategist, worries that Trump's immigration policies could hurt consumer spending, spark mass protests and fuel "undercurrents about inequality."

Even Trump's more moderate immigration ideas could hurt some companies. Specifically, Trump has threatened to crack down on the practice of hiring foreign workers through H-1B visas and Jeff Sessions, his proposed Attorney General, is a vocal critic of this program. Silicon Valley has long relied on the H-1B program to find talented workers that help fuel innovation.

-- CNNMoney's Patrick Gillespie and Heather Long contributed to this report.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cdc-us-abortion-rate-falls-to-lowest-level-in-decades/ar-AAkFNeM?li=AA4ZnC&ocid=spartandhp
CDC: US abortion rate falls to lowest level in decades

NEW YORK — The number and rate of abortions tallied by federal authorities have fallen to their lowest level in decades, according to new data released Wednesday.

The latest annual report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, incorporating data from 47 states, said the abortion rate for 2013 was 12.5 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years. That is down 5 percent from 2012, and is half the rate of 25 recorded in 1980.

The last time the CDC recorded a lower abortion rate was in 1971, two years before the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that established a nationwide right for women to have abortions. Abortion was legal in some states at that time.

The CDC tallied 664,435 abortions in 2013 from the 47 states, down 5 percent from 2012 and down 20 percent from 2004. The CDC does not receive abortion data from California, Maryland and New Hampshire — and thus its total is less than the widely accepted current estimate of more than 900,000 abortions per year in all 50 states.

Back in 1990, when California was supplying data, the CDC recorded a peak of more than 1.4 million abortions.



FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2011 file photo, a statue representing women's empowerment stands in front of a Planned Parenthood facility in Tucson, Ariz. The number and rate of abortions tallied by federal authorities have fallen to their lowest level in decades, according to new data released Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)© The Associated Press FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2011 file photo, a statue representing women's empowerment stands in front of a Planned Parenthood facility in Tucson, Ariz. The number and rate of abortions tallied by federal authorities have fallen to… The CDC's latest findings meshed with an Associated Press state-by-state survey conducted last year — with extensive data from 2014 — showing that abortions had been declining in virtually every state since 2010. There were big declines in conservative states passing laws to restrict abortions and also in more liberal states that protected abortion rights.

The CDC report suggests there are several factors behind the abortion decline, including a sharp drop in adolescent pregnancies, expanded coverage of contraception costs by health care plans, and increased use of effective, long-lasting contraceptive methods such as intrauterine devices and hormonal implants.

Among the CDC's detailed findings:

—Women in their 20s accounted for more than 58 percent of abortions and had the highest abortion rates. Young women and girls aged 19 and under accounted for 11.7 percent of abortions.

—Two-thirds of abortions were performed within the first eight weeks of gestation, and nearly 92 percent by 13 weeks. Only 1.3 percent were performed after 20 weeks — a point at which many anti-abortion activists want a federal abortion ban to be imposed. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to support such a ban if legislation reaches his desk.

—State abortion rates varied widely, from 3.6 per 1,000 women age 15-44 in Mississippi to 24.3 in New York. Mississippi is among a handful of states with only one functioning abortion clinic.

—Medical abortions — generally using the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol — accounted for about 22 percent of abortions; surgical procedures accounted for nearly all the others.

—About 15 percent of women who obtained an abortion were married. About 60 percent had previously given birth to at least one child.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-payrolls-report-november-2016-130614643.html
Unemployment rate tumbles to 4.6%, lowest since August 2007

In a stunning development, the Bureau of Labor Statistics just revealed that the US unmployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 4.6% in November. This is the lowest level since August 2007.

Economists were expecting the rate to be unchanged from October at 4.9%.

During the month, US companies added 178,000 nonfarm payrolls, which was a tad lighter than the 180,000 forecast by economists. Growth was driven by private payrolls, which increased by 156,000.

Average hourly earnings increased 2.5% year-over-year, which was weaker than the 2.8% pace expected.

“A watchful eye will remain on wages as more pro-growth policies are expected to be initiated in 2017,” Wells Fargo’s Sam Bullard said ahead of the report.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/12/01/study-fastest-growing-churches-have-modern-worship-teach-literal-interpretation-bible.html
12/1/16
Study: Fastest-growing churches have modern worship, teach literal interpretation of Bible

A Canadian study has found that Mainline Protestant churches that have both modern worship services and teach a literal interpretation of the Bible grow faster.

The Canadian researchers who authored the study, "Theology Matters: Comparing the Traits of Growing and Declining Mainline Protestant Church Attendees and Clergy," surveyed 2,225 churchgoers in Ontario, Canada, and interviewed 29 clergy and 195 congregants. The study will be published in next month's issue of the Review of Religious Research.

HUNDREDS SUPPORT CHRISTIAN FLORIST FINED FOR REFUSING TO WORK GAY WEDDING

"This study was important because it quantified empirically something that evangelical renewalists have been saying for decades — theology matters," said the Rev. Tom Lambrecht, vice president and general manager of Good News Magazine, a United Methodist publication, in an interview with The Christian Post.

Lambrecht, who served for 29 years as a United Methodist minister in Wisconsin, told CP that people who are interested in the things of God "want spiritual substance, not just a feel-good message or the opportunity to engage in community service." The Church, he said, has to to be distinct from and offer more than local civic associations and charities.

SCHOOL DISTRICT BANS SANTA CLAUS, RELIGIOUS IMAGERY BEFORE CHRISTMAS

A solidly Orthodox Gospel that motivates churches to adapt their worship life and ministries to engage the next generation more effectively will be one where the message remains the same, but the means of delivery look different.

The study also showed that services at growing "churches featured contemporary worship with drums and guitars, while declining churches favoured traditional styles of worship with organ and choir."

"The use of contemporary Christian worship music is an example of that adaptation," Lambrecht said. "It has been around for over 40 years, yet some churches still resist making that adaptation." He added, however, that he's seen examples of churches that have more traditional styles of worship that are also yielding growth.

Pastor John Daffern who leads a Southern Baptist congregation in Columbus, Mississippi, calls himself "an apologist for the modern church."

"I pastor a church that fits that mold," said Daffern, who leads MTV Church, in a recent interview with CP after he read some of the study's findings.

"We are theologically conservative, according to that study, and yet we are unashamedly modern and we are in a sustained period of growth in our church, and that is in direct contrast to many of the Mainline churches and even some evangelical churches.

"And I think the wisdom of that study is the two parts. There does need to be a modern sense of an expression of the faith while at the same time a conservative, Orthodox view of Christianity," he added.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/what-are-95-million-americans-doing-out-of-the-labor-force/ar-AAl4gN7?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
What are 95 million Americans doing out of the labor force?
 
12/2/16

The November jobs report looked pretty good on the surface except for one number that popped off the page: 95 million.

That's the number of Americans now counted as not in the labor force, a historic high that has confounded economists and policymakers. The total — 95.06 million to be more exact — has been rising consistently but surged by a gaudy 446,000 last month.

The jump occurred as the U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs and the headline unemployment rate dropped sharply.

Explaining the consistent increase in those leaving the labor force is complicated, with factors divided between an aging and rapidly retiring workforce, a skills gap that leaves job openings unfilled, and the nettlesome problem of too many people who find it's just easier to collect welfare and other transfer payments rather than go back to work.

"(What) are so many of them doing?" Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, said in a note after the nonfarm payrolls report. Boockvar used a crude online expression that nicely sums up the continued frustration with America's shrinking labor force.

In a subsequent interview, he acknowledged the issue is many pronged and poses a long-term obstacle for economic growth.

"It's a combination. There's no question a lot of them are retirees," Boockvar said. "No one wants to say, 'I want to get fired and sit on my butt.' But when people do lose their jobs, they're not being incentivized enough to go back to work compared to the benefits they get by not being at work."

Indeed, the U.S. saw an explosion in benefits during the Great Recession that has receded only mildly during the recovery.

For example, the level of those enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — food stamps — has remained elevated even with an economic expansion that is nearly 7½ years old. SNAP recipients totaled 33.5 million in 2009, the year the recession ended. In 2016, the number is at 45.3 million. The government shelled out $74 billion in benefits last year, about double the level of 2008.

Taken together, the numbers show that there's more to meets the eye than a headline unemployment rate of 4.6 percent, the lowest since August 2007. Because that number ignores those not in the labor force, as well as workers at part-time jobs for economic reasons, it doesn't tell the whole story. A broader jobless measure is at 9.3 percent.

"I have a problem with people saying we're at full employment," said Dan North, chief economist at Euler Hermes North America, a trade credit insurance company. "We have a record 95 million people sitting on the sidelines. To me, that's hardly full employment."

The structural issue is what North calls the "silver tsunami of retirees" or those 10,000 baby boomers a month leaving the workforce and heading for retirement.

But that's only one more part of the problem. Another big issue is the skills gap for employers struggling to find workers to fill positions.

Job openings in September were at 5.5 million, though hires were at just 5.1 million, according to the Labor Department.

"Employers have lots of jobs open but can't find the right people to fill them. That's certainly a part of it as well," North said.

Companies are trying to be creative in that respect. Some strategies they are employing include reducing prerequisites for jobs — allowing, say, associate degree holders for jobs that formerly required bachelor's or master's degrees — while also focusing on job training and flexible hours.

That carries its own risk by allowing workers with a steeper learning curve on the job. But the current labor force condition is mandating innovative solutions, and compromises.

"It's a great thing for the candidate that's getting an opportunity, especially for the millennial who's interested in career growth and job changes every couple of years. For the employers, it's good in a sense to seek a new perspective from the labor pool," said Amy Glaser, senior vice president at Adecco Staffing, a recruitment and workforce solutions firm. "From a change management perspective, it's really difficult for the employer. It requires a lot of patience, creativity and open minds to look at things."

Glaser believes the various factors at play aren't going to go away anytime soon.

"There's not a quick fix," she said.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/just-three-stocks-responsible-almost-124703950.html
Just three stocks are responsible for almost half of the Dow's huge one-month rally
[CNBC]
Alex Rosenberg
December 5, 2016

The Dow Jones Industrial average (Dow Jones Global Indexes: .DJI) has gained about 1,200 points over the past month. And interestingly, nearly half of that advance has been produced by just three stocks.

Leading the field by a wide margin is Goldman Sachs (GS): That stock's 26.5 percent rally over the past month has added about 320 points to the Dow. In second place is UnitedHealth (UNH), which is up about 15.7 percent, and has consequently tacked about 150 points onto the 30-stock index. Finally, Caterpillar (CAT)'s 17.3 percent run had added about 95 points, just ahead of JPMorgan (JPM)'s 90-odd point contribution.

As it happens, these four stocks, including JPMorgan, are the best performers over the past month. But their contributions could be seen as oversized due to their high share prices.

Unlike the S&P 500 (^GSPC) or the Russell 2000 (^RUT), the Dow is a price-weighted index, meaning that its performance is congruent to that of a portfolio that owns a single share of each company contained in the index.

If one owned such a portfolio, the move by a $223 share of Goldman Sachs would impact overall performance almost 10 times more than the same percentage-sized move in $29 Cisco (CSCO).

The Dow has been fortunate, then, that some of its largest dollar-priced stocks have also been its best performers, while some of its smallest stocks (such as Cisco, as well as Coca-Cola (KO) and Intel (INTC)) have been laggards. As a result, the Dow is up 6.7 percent in the past month, while the market cap-weighted S&P 500 has risen just 4.5 percent.

The Dow's rally is "not at all" sustainable, said Eddy Elfenbein, editor of the Crossing Wall Street blog.

The effect of price-weighting is to give stocks like Goldman Sachs "outsized influence. So I'm not a buyer here — I don't think these stocks are going to lift the Dow any higher," Elfenbein said Friday on CNBC's " Power Lunch ."

On the other hand, Oppenheimer technical analyst Ari Wald says that while the source of the price gains may be concentrated in a few stocks, "the rally has nonetheless been broad based," with 22 of the Dow components rising over the past month, and 77 percent of the index trading at about their individual average closing price over the past 200 days.

Wald found that in the six months following points at which 75 percent or more of the Dow components have been trading above their 200-day moving averages, the index has risen by an average of 4.1 percent.

"Historically speaking, the numbers argue for more gains for the Dow Jones industrial average," Wald said Friday on "Power Lunch."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/05/europe/italy-austria-europe-votes-nic-robertson/index.html
Voters in Italy, Austria send message to EU leaders: Hold on tight

By Nic Robertson, CNN

Updated 10:11 AM ET, Mon December 5, 2016
Italians vote 'no,' a win for Eurosceptics

 (CNN)Europeans rode an emotional roller coaster Sunday. Up, then down.

The resignation of Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in the early hours of Monday signaled what so many had feared, that his referendum on political reforms inside Italy would reverberate across all of Europe.

Hours earlier, European leaders had hailed pro-EU candidate Alexander Van der Bellen's trouncing of nationalist Norbert Hofer in Austria's Presidential election as a victory over nationalism.

Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said "all of Europe is relieved."

Both men are paying particularly close attention as they, along with the Dutch, face their own elections next year.

In a Europe awash with an apparently infectious populism, how votes go beyond their borders is suddenly very relevant.

Their relief over the Austrian vote was short lived. Renzi's referendum defeat hands Italy's EU skeptics a stronger mandate and possibly enough clout in Parliament or the polls to push their agenda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edSESUKuUaA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-i_KwQqiIU

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/07/media/time-trump-person-of-the-year/index.html
Trump named Time Person of the Year

Time magazine has named Donald Trump its Person of the Year -- calling him "President of the Divided States of America."

"I don't think that we have ever seen one person, operating in such an unconventional way, have an impact on the events of the year," said Time editor Nancy Gibbs.

She called this year's choice "one of the more straightforward years." Trump beat runner-up Hillary Clinton for the distinction, which Gibbs said is given to the newsmaker who has the biggest influence on world events, for better or worse.

Placing third was "the hackers," to cover people who breached the records of major government organizations, politicians, celebrities and everyday citizens.

The short list also included President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, scientists who developed new DNA-related technology and Beyonce.

    Donald Trump is TIME's Person of the Year 2016 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/5pTGOksevE pic.twitter.com/N8BtqTu9Nl
    — TIME (@TIME) December 7, 2016

The announcement was revealed on NBC's "Today" show. Speaking on the show via phone, Trump called the title a "very, very great honor."

The magazine has been selecting the year's most influential person, group or idea since 1927. Its choices have included nearly every U.S. president, Adolf Hitler, Ayatollah Khomeini, Mahatma Gandhi and Pope Francis, along with groups like the "Ebola fighters." The title was changed in 1982 to "Machine of the Year" for the computer.

In its 90-year history, Time has named only four individual women: American socialite Wallis Simpson, whose marriage to King Edward VIII caused a constitutional crisis, Queen Elizabeth II, President Corazon Aquino of the Philippines, and last year's choice, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Other women have been named as part of a group or class of people.

"It's hard to measure the scale of his disruption," Gibbs wrote in the magazine's article about choosing Trump this year. "So which is it this year: Better or worse? The challenge for Donald Trump is how profoundly the country disagrees about the answer."

Trump has already appeared on Time's cover on numerous occasions this year, including two covers published before the election that featured a cartoon illustration of his melting face titled "Meltdown" and "Total meltdown."

Trump criticized the magazine last year when it picked Merkel, who he called the "person who is ruining Germany."

Trump, who had been a finalist, tweeted the magazine "would never pick me as person of the year despite being the big favorite."

Trump on Wednesday, however, called the magazine "important."

"It means a lot, especially me growing up reading Time magazine, and you know, it's a very important magazine, and I've been lucky enough to be on the cover many times this year," he said on NBC.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/dow-soars-nearly-300-points-to-close-at-record-high/ar-AAlcd6A?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
Dow soars nearly 300 points to close at record high

Stocks closed sharply higher Wednesday as the Dow and S&P hit record highs, while investors awaited a monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank.

The S&P 500 erased earlier losses to rise around 1.3 percent, with telecoms rallying around 2 percent to lead advancers.

The Dow gained 297 points, with Home Depot, IBM and Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains. The Dow Transports, meanwhile, traded at their first intraday high since 2014. Since Nov. 8, transports have risen more than 12 percent.

"I think this is more momentum from the Trump rally," said Adam Sarhan, CEO at 50 Park Investments. "You've got the financials, transports, steel stocks, small and mid-cap stocks all trading higher. The areas that have worked [since the election] continue to work."

"While all this is happening, you've seen virtually no selling. That's very good for stocks moving forward," he said.

The Nasdaq composite rose 1.1 percent despite the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shedding around 3 percent.

Entering Wednesday, the Dow had posted gains in 17 of the past 21 sessions and 11 record closes since the election. The S&P and the Nasdaq, meanwhile, have risen 3.4 percent and 2.7 percent since Nov. 8, respectively.

"We've obviously had a pretty significant run over the past few weeks, but with hardly any down days," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities. "The market is trying to price in a paradigm of fiscal stimulus and deregulation."

President-elect Donald Trump stunned the world by defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election with optimism for greater infrastructure spending and deregulation of certain sectors propelling the sharp increase in stocks since Nov. 8.

"Yesterday's 'checkmark' pattern traced by the S&P 500 offered another reminder of large institutions plowing cash into shares in a determined effort to boost their positioning. Despite this consistent risk extension since Donald Trump's shocking victory over Hillary Clinton, my most reliable sentiment indicators suggest that many portfolio managers still have the ability to increase their stock holdings substantially," said Jeremy Klein, chief market strategist at FBN Securities, in a note.

Investors also looked ahead to a key ECB meeting, in which the central bank is largely expected to extend its quantitative easing program beyond March 2017, particularly after a Sunday referendum in Italy left the country's banks in a vulnerable spot.

"Now, remember, this is the same [ECB President] Mario Draghi that says more than he does," said Wunderlich's Hogan. "I think the market is heading into this meeting with the expectation of more action" being taken.

There are no major U.S. economic data due Wednesday, one week before a Federal Reserve meeting in which the U.S. central bank is expected to raise interest rates. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, market expectations for a 25-basis-point increase in rates were around 95 percent.

The U.S. dollar has risen sharply over the past month on expectations of higher rates and fiscal stimulus. On Wednesday, however, the greenback fell 0.21 percent against a basket of currencies, with the euro around $1.075 and the yen near 113.9.

"November's Trump effect still fuels the Dollar with optimism over Donald Trump implementing fiscal stimulus measures reinforcing expectations of an improvement in overall US GDP. A strong rise in inflation from healthy growth could force the Federal Reserve to raise US interest rates aggressively in an effort to prevent the economy from overheating," Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, said in a note.

U.S. Treasury yields fell across the board, with the two-year note yield trading around 1.09 percent and the benchmark 10-year yield near 2.34 percent.

In oil markets, West Texas Intermediate futures for January delivery settled 2.3 percent lower at $49.77 per barrel as doubts over an agreed upon OPEC production cut persisted, despite a reported drawdown of 2.4 million barrels by the Energy Information Administration.

Overseas, European stocks traded higher, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index gaining 0.9 percent. In Asia, stocks closed mostly higher, with the Shanghai composite advancing 0.71 percent and the Nikkei 225 gaining 0.74 percent.

About four stocks advanced for every decliner at the New York Stock Exchange, with an exchange volume of 622 million and a composite volume of 3.321 billion.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 11.8.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/traders-accused-of-manipulating-more-than-2000-stocks/ar-AAltZwy?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
12/13/16
Traders accused of manipulating more than 2,000 stocks

Two New Jersey traders were arrested on Monday for allegedly manipulating prices of more than 2,000 New York Stock Exchange- and Nasdaq-listed shares resulting in more than $26 million in illegal profits over a two-year period.

Regulators, law enforcement, and the exchanges use technology to see, and track, manipulative trading that, in this case happened more than 23,000 times and often lasted just a few minutes. Joseph Taub, 37, of Clifton, New Jersey, and Elazar Shmalo, 21, of Passaic, New Jersey sometimes controlled at least 80% of the volume of a targeted stock and traded in several accounts simultaneously, the regulators said.

The scheme, says the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Jersey, was sophisticated. Taub, a registered broker, and Shmalo, who is unemployed, allegedly coordinated trading in more than $10 billion worth of securities in dozens of brokerage accounts.

more

Americans are more willing to cut Social Security than once thought
12/13/16
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/americans-are-more-willing-to-cut-social-security-than-once-thought/ar-AAltPVG?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

It has long been an axiom in politics that Social Security is politically radioactive and that politicians court political disaster by pressing for major changes in the nation’s premier retirement program.

Former President George W. Bush suffered a sharp decline in popularity after his 2004 reelection by promoting an ill-fated plan to partially privatize the system by allowing Americans to invest their benefits in private accounts. The more Bush talked about his Social Security proposal, the more unpopular it became. The Gallup organization recorded that disapproval as it grew from 48 percent to 64 percent during the first six months of his second term.

Veteran Republican Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas, the chair of the House Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee, may have touched the so-called “Third Rail of Politics” last week. He introduced legislation to assure the long-term solvency of the retirement trust fund by – among other things – raising the retirement age to 69, raising payroll tax revenues, means testing the system for wealthier retirees and adopting a less generous cost-of-living formula.

Although the trust fund isn’t in imminent danger, the Social Security trustees warned that absent congressional action, it will be exhausted in 2033. Thereafter, the benefits for 61 million retirees and their families would have to be cut by 23 percent. Johnson’s proposal immediately drew sharp attacks from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other liberal Democrats, who portrayed it as an assault on the 75-year-old retirement system that could lead to cuts in benefits for average beneficiaries of a third or more.

However, a comprehensive survey by the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation released shortly before the election found that two-thirds or more of Republican and Democratic registered voters agreed on steps along the lines of Johnson’s proposal that would cover at least two-thirds of the projected shortfalls in the trust fund. A slightly smaller majority of voters (59 percent) said they would back even more stringent measures to wipe out the shortfall entirely.

Perhaps the most popular measure, according to the survey, would be raising the cap on income subject to the federal payroll tax from $117,000 to $215,000 per year. Some 88 percent of the GOP and Democratic respondents said they would favor that approach. Another idea with widespread appeal is raising the retirement age for full benefits to 68, which garnered 79 percent approval. The retirement age is currently 66 and is scheduled to rise to 67 by 2027 under current law.

Another revenue measure with high voter appeal, according to the survey, is raising the federal payroll tax from 6.2 percent to 6.6 percent. That idea drew an overall approval rating of 76 percent. Meanwhile, proposed cuts in benefits for those in the top 25 percent income levels drew support from more than seven in ten voters.

Another popular idea – but one that would add to the long-term Social Security shortfall – is raising the minimum monthly benefit for those who have worked 30 years or more, from $800 to $1,216. The current minimum benefit is below the federal poverty line. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and numerous liberal Democrats have clamored for an increased benefit, especially for widows struggling to make ends meet. Some 58 percent of those interviewed for the project favored increasing the minimum benefit, although Democrats were far more in favor of that than Republicans.

Other ideas fell flat with voters interviewed for the project, including changing the way the Labor Department calculates the cost of living adjustment. Less than a third of voters supported the so-called “Chained CPI” method that would likely slow the rate of increase, an idea that has been advanced by a number of Republicans and President Obama as well to slow the rate of growth in Social Security spending.

Meanwhile, just three in ten say they would go along with basing the COLA primarily on what elderly people tend to buy, an approach that would accelerate the rate of increase in spending and add to the trust fund’s financial woes.

It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of the Social Security system, created in 1935 during the Great Depression, to tens of millions of seniors and retirees. Among elderly Social Security beneficiaries today, 53 percent of married couples and 74 percent of unmarried persons receive half or more of their income from Social Security, according to the study. What’s more, 22 percent of married couples and 47 percent of unmarried people depend on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income, the study says.

Much of the previous polling by Gallup and other organizations suggest that many Americans are highly concerned about the future of Social Security – including many who doubt there will be anything left in the trust fund by the time they retire. However, they are dubious about specific proposals for assuring the program’s long-term solvency. Many of the polls asked voters specifically whether they would approve or disapprove of a major change in Social Security without providing much background, and the result was frequently for voters to say no.

Yet the responses were quite different in the survey results released in mid-October by the non-partisan, non-profit Program for Public Consultation which over the years has embraced a more sophisticated approach. Rather than simply responding to a series of yes or no questions about their attitudes on Social Security and other entitlement reform, the PPC technique requires voters to play the role of policy makers and consider the pros and cons of a set of proposals for assuring the long-term solvency of Social Security.

“The significance of these findings are that if leaders wanted to engage the public in a way that says, okay, we have this problem, let’s think about the solutions, here are the possibilities, what do you think . . . they could get engaged,” said Steven Kull, a political psychologist and director of PPC who wrote the report. “In the end, the voters can come to terms with some hard choices.”

Kull noted that in 1983, the last time the retirement trust fund faced a financial crisis, a bipartisan commission headed by Alan Greenspan and key members of Congress worked out a compromise that largely satisfied the public. “We didn’t have rioting in the streets and I’m not aware of anybody who lost their seat because of a vote on that. So if there is the political will in Congress, what I think the survey shows is that the public can get on board with it.”

In all, 8,697 registered voters across the country randomly selected by Nielsen-Scarborough, a public opinion and consulting operation, took part in the study. The research project specifically targeted or oversampled large, politically and demographically diverse states including California, Ohio, Florida, Texas, New York, Oklahoma and Virginia.  GOP and Democratic congressional staff members and experts at the National Academy of Social Insurance and the American Enterprise Institute reviewed the explanatory material used in the simulation for accuracy and balance.

more

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/dow-closes-within-100-points-of-20000-ahead-of-fed-rate-decision/ar-AAluGB8?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
Dow closes within 100 points of 20,000 ahead of Fed rate decision
12/13/16

Stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors kept an eye on a key Federal Reserve meeting, while the Dow Jones industrial average closed in on another milestone.

The Dow closed up 114 points at a record 19,911, with IBM and Apple contributing the most gains. The S&P 500 also ended at an all-time high, rising 0.65 percent, with energy and information technology leading advancers. The Nasdaq outperformed, advancing 0.95 percent to a new all-time high.

The Fed began a two-day monetary policy meeting, with most market participants expecting the central bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, market expectations for a rate hike were above 90 percent.

"To me, it's all about what they say about their guidance for 2017," said Eric Stein, co-director of global income at Eaton Vance. "I don't expect them to be particularly hawkish tomorrow," but we could see a more hawkish Fed in the near future.

"A new political regime took hold on November 8th and tomorrow we'll see if there is any acknowledgement of that from the FOMC and whether we're about to embark on a new monetary regime. I would define 'new monetary regime' as anything more aggressive than the pace of one rate hike per year," said Peter Boockvar, a chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, in a note.

The meeting is expected to conclude Wednesday, with Fed Chair Janet Yellen scheduled to hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

U.S. Treasury yields were mixed on Tuesday, with the benchmark 10-year yield trading around 2.48 percent, a day after breaking above 2.5 percent for the first time since 2014. The two-year note yield rose, last trading around 1.17 percent. Yields have risen sharply since the election, as investors have dumped Treasurys as optimism surrounding possible tax cuts and deregulation of certain sectors has made other assets more attractive.

"Everyone is looking at the 20K level which is very important because there could be some profit taking at that level. This is a major resistance and psychological mark and traders will not hesitate to take some profit off the table to celebrate another bull year," Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets, said in a note.

The Dow has gained 14 percent for the year, with a large part of those gains coming after Donald Trump stunned the world by winning the U.S. presidency. Since Nov. 8, the Dow has spiked more than 8 percent and has posted 16 record closes.

"What we've seen in the past months is what some might call a new phase of the bull market," said Rick Anderson, chief investment officer at Hull Investments, noting that stocks have risen along with the dollar and interest rates over the past month. The U.S. dollar held around the flatline against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, but has surged 3.2 percent since the election.

Still, Bill Northey, chief investment officer at the Private Client Group at U.S. Bank, said the Dow hitting 20,000 might just be a psychological event for the market, as the number "is not an important technical event and it is not indicative of where we go from there." 

In economic news, the November read on the NFIB Small Business index came in at 98.4, above October's 94.9. Meanwhile, import prices fell 0.3 percent in November.

Overseas, European equities traded higher, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index rising 1.06 percent. In Asia, stocks closed mixed as the Shanghai composite advanced just 0.08 percent and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 13.

U.S. crude futures for January delivery rose 0.3 percent to settle at $52.98 per barrel.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4031186/IBM-unveils-plan-hire-25-000-US-eve-Trump-meeting.html
IBM to hire 25,000 more workers in the US in the next four years and invest $1billion in employee development, tech boss vows ahead of Trump meeting

    About 6,000 of the new appointments are due to be made in 2017
    IBM will invest $1billion on employee training and development in four years
    IBM chief Ginni Rometty is a member of Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/silicon-valley-prepares-to-make-peace-with-donald-trump/ar-AAlwgzp?OCID=ansmsnnews11
Silicon Valley Prepares to Make Peace with Donald Trump
12/13/16

After months spent clashing with Donald Trump on the campaign trail, Silicon Valley’s top dignitaries will fly to New York on Wednesday for a summit of sorts with the tech-adverse president-elect. While the exact agenda of the meeting hasn’t been made public, Alphabet C.E.O. Larry Page, Facebook C.O.O. Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft C.E.O. Satya Nadella, IBM C.E.O. Ginni Rometty, and Apple C.E.O. Tim Cook will be among the teach leaders to sit down with the incoming president, his chief of staff Reince Priebus, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, to discuss an agenda that is expected to touch on several issues of importance to the industry.

Like the meeting Trump convened last month with media executives, only to berate them for their “biased” coverage, Wednesday’s tech summit could get heated. While the vast majority of Silicon Valley leaders opposed Trump or even fund-raised for Hillary Clinton, some have already clashed personally with the billionaire real-estate developer. Amazon C.E.O. Jeff Bezos, who is reported to be attending, joked that he’d like to send Trump into space on one of his Blue Origin rockets. Trump accused Bezos, without joking, of using The Washington Post as a partisan cudgel and a means of advancing his own business interests. For others, getting along with Trump is even more complicated. Elon Musk, who may or may not attend the summit, currently benefits from both a NASA contract with his company SpaceX, and from alternative-energy subsidies that help consumers purchase cars from his other major company, Tesla Motors. Trump himself has maintained a mostly antagonistic relationship with the tech sector. While he is a huge fan of Twitter, the president-elect has called for the United States to “take back the Internet” from ISIS; called for Bill Gates to “close up” the Web; and said he’ll get Apple to “start building their damn computers and things” in the U.S. He is expected to dismantle Net Neutrality when he takes office next year.

More: The 15 Most Cringeworthy Moments of the Election

And yet, despite all their differences, it is in Silicon Valley’s interest to make nice with the incoming administration. The first order of business for many tech leaders will likely be to try to soften the president-elect on the topic of immigration reform, which directly affects tech companies. The vast majority of the Valley is actively opposed to a freeze or reform of the H-1B visa laws, which allow foreign students to stay and work in the U.S. after graduating from college. Earlier this year, Facebook C.E.O. Mark Zuckerberg and others in the tech community signed onto a brief submitted to the Supreme Court in favor of President Barack Obama’s executive actions, arguing that allowing the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country to contribute to the U.S. economy would benefit the tech industry and the country. “As I travel around the world, I see many nations turning inwards. I hear growing voices for building walls and distancing people labeled as ‘other,’” Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post earlier this year. “Whether it’s refugees, undocumented immigrants, or under-represented minorities, I hope we have the wisdom to understand that the best path forward is always to bring people together, not divide them.” The visa program appears to be a point of contention for Trump: in March, Trump said he would “end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions.” The possibility of stricter immigration laws has already triggered fears of a brain drain, with China and Canada making overtures to foreign engineers to abandon the U.S. for greener pastures in Beijing and Toronto. “I read that an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump complained that three-quarters of engineers in Silicon Valley aren’t Americans,” Baidu C.E.O. Robin Lisaid in a recent address. “So I myself hope that many of these engineers will come to China to work for us.”

Issues of international trade are also sure to be discussed. Trump has been a vocal opponent of what he has termed “bad” trade deals that he says hurt American workers. He’s repeatedly threatened to impose high tariffs on foreign-made products from places like Mexico and China—a policy that could substantially raise prices for tech products like computers and smartphones. He will likely try to renegotiate some of the North American Free Trade Agreement and has already said he will not implement the President Barack Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, all of which stands to affect tech companies with global supply chains.

The tech industry may have even less luck when it comes to encryption, which Trump opposed throughout his campaign as a potential threat to law enforcement. Earlier this year, Trump denounced Apple for refusing a court order to cooperate with an F.B.I. request to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino terrorist attack last year. “To think that Apple won’t allow us to get into her cell phone? Who do they think they are?” he fumed on Fox and Friends. Trump’s C.I.A. pick, Mike Pompeo, is also no fan of encryption; the Kansas Republican opposed Apple’s refusal to cooperate with the F.B.I. during its investigation of the San Bernardino shooting, calling it “disappointing” and adding that C.E.O. Cook “should not stand in the way of the F.B.I.’s investigation into a dead ISIS terrorist, who has the blood of 14 innocent Americans on his hands.” That may not bode well for other tech companies, like Facebook, that are moving to provide end-to-end encryption on their messaging services.

The California and New York delegations could find much to agree on, however, when it comes to business regulations, which many tech companies would be happy to see lifted. For companies like Uber and Airbnb—neither of which will be represented at the summit, as their respective C.E.O.s can’t make it—Trump’s nomination of Elaine Chao to lead the transportation department could be good news. Aside from helping to rebuild U.S. infrastructure, Chao will be tasked with helping to navigate the future of autonomous vehicles on U.S. roads and the use of drones, both emerging businesses that have major regulatory obstacles to overcome before they become viable. The pro-business, anti-regulation president-elect has also been hostile toward some mega-mergers, like the one proposed between AT&T and Time Warner, and has at times attacked companies like Amazon as monopolies. But he has also appeared amenable to business leaders who make a point of flattering him. Time Warner C.E.O. Jeff Bewkes, who previously donated to Democrats, recently made a point of disparaging them as a “threat to the First Amendment.” Experts believe Trump’s F.C.C. is likely to approve the deal.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fed-set-hike-rates-policy-060210829.html
12/14/16
Fed raises rates, sees faster pace of increases in 2017

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday and signalled a faster pace of increases in 2017 as the Trump administration takes over with promises to boost growth through tax cuts, spending and deregulation.

The rate increase, regarded as a virtual certainty by financial markets in the wake of a string of generally strong economic reports, raised the target federal funds rate 25 basis points to between 0.50 percent and 0.75 percent. Bond yields and the dollar rose after the rate decision while stocks were mixed with financials and tech the only two sectors to show gains.

"In view of realized and expected labour market conditions and inflation, the committee decided to raise the target range," the central bank's policy-setting committee said in its unanimous statement after a two-day meeting.

"Job gains have been solid in recent months and the unemployment rate has declined," the Fed said, noting that market-based measures of inflation compensation had moved up "considerably."

More significant was a fresh batch of Fed policymaker forecasts that indicated the current once-a-year pace of rate increases will accelerate next year. Markets and the Fed appeared to be close on pricing with Fed futures markets pricing in at least two and possibly three hikes, up from one to two prior to the meeting.

With President-elect Donald Trump planning a simultaneous round of tax cuts and increased spending on infrastructure, central bank policymakers shifted their outlook to one of slightly faster growth, lower unemployment and inflation just under the Fed's 2 percent target.

The Fed's median outlook for rates rose to three quarter-point increases in 2017 from two as of September. That would be followed by another three increases in both 2018 and 2019 before the rate levels off at a long-run "normal" 3.0 percent.

That normal level is slightly higher from three months ago, a sign that the Fed feels the economy is still gaining traction.

“They didn’t mention the fiscal stimulus but typically their aggressiveness does indicate that there’s a little more confidence that they can get away with three hikes next year," said Aaron Kohli, interest rate strategist at BMO Capital Markets.

The Fed continued to describe that pace as "gradual," keeping policy still slightly loose and supporting some further improvement in the job market. It sees unemployment falling to 4.5 percent next year and remaining at that level, which is considered to be close to full employment.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET (1930 GMT) to elaborate on the decision.


TRUMP IMPACT

U.S. bond yields had already begun moving higher following the election and as expectations of the Fed rate increase solidified. By the start of this week, trading in fed funds futures assigned a greater than 95 percent likelihood to a rate hike, according to data compiled by the CME Group.

All 120 economists in a recent Reuters poll had expected a rate hike on Wednesday.

In the weeks following Trump's Nov. 8 victory, Fed policymakers have said his proposals could push the economy into a higher gear in the short run. Even though the details of the Republican businessman's plans remain uncertain, Wednesday's statement marked a rare case in the post-crisis era in which the Fed moved its interest rate outlook higher.

Risks to the outlook remain "roughly balanced" between factors that could slow or accelerate the economy beyond what the central bank anticipates, the Fed said, no change from the November assessment.

The rate increase was the first since last December and only the second since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when the Fed cut rates to near zero and deployed other tools such as massive bond purchases to stabilise the economy.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/22/news/economy/us-gdp-third-quarter-last-revision/index.html
12/22/16
U.S. economy grew strong 3.5% in third quarter

America gained a little more momentum than previously thought.

The U.S. economy grew 3.5% in the third quarter -- July to September -- compared to the same time a year ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

It's the best quarter of growth in two years. The first estimate, published in October, had the economy growing at 2.9% in the third quarter.

It was also the last look at the economy's performance in the months leading up to the election, when President-elect Donald Trump criticized America's slow growth on the campaign trail.

It's also closer to the 4% growth that Trump has promised for the economy.

Despite the improved reading in the quarter, it won't move the needle much for all of 2016. The U.S. economy grew at a sluggish pace in the first half of the year, averaging 1.1%, and many economists still forecast around 2% growth for the entire year.

Related: U.S. manufacturing job openings back at 2007 levels

The Federal Reserve sees the economy growing around 2% for the next few years.

A major, one-time, increase in soybean exports helped explain why the third quarter was so good.

But other categories picked up slack too. Consumer spending, which makes up the majority of activity, rose 3% in the quarter. Business spending on new buildings and projects wasn't as much of a drag on the economy as it had been in previous quarters. Federal government spending also picked up too.

This is JMHO, but it's becoming more clear why it could be that it's God's will for Trump to be in office.

Over the last 10 years, it's been one big psyop after another - FEMA Camps, Martial Law, 501c3 churches twisting Romans 13, HAARP causing strange weather patterns, and what not. But now that Trump has been "elected"? Any peep over 501c3 concerns? Martial Law? You can hear a pin drop! Why, and largely? B/c the Hillary Jezebel scare is over for one (another major psyop IMHO that's been going on for 25 years), and Obama's 8 years have come out "unscathed".

Just cling to the written word of God, and be very careful in terms of all of the world's lustly snares being thrown at us left and right, which I believe will be our biggest enemy in these last days.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/millennials-need-to-plan-for-dow-50000-right-now-trader-191923450.html
Millennials need to plan for Dow 50,000 right now: trader
12/22/16

It would seem, on the market’s race to Dow (^DJI) 20,000, that we’ve hit a little speed bump. It’s not so much “if” we will hit that psychological and magical level, it’s more “when.” But what does it really mean?

For traders here on the floor, it’s a significant benchmark in the Dow—one that will be celebrated with loud yells, confetti-like paper flying around, and high fives! After this three-minute celebration, it will be back to trading, and 20,000 will be in the history books.

Talk will start to focus on Dow 25,000, then 30,000. Yesterday, I heard someone talking about Dow 50,000 by the end of Trump’s eight-year presidency (eight years?!). What traders are truly preoccupied with is the market trend. There is a saying down here on the floor, “The trend is your friend,” and right now the trend is very friendly. The latest bullish sentiment out of the AAII (American Association of Individual Investors) shows bullish sentiment at 44.7% vs. bearish sentiment at 32.3%. However, bearish sentiment is starting to move, up +5.8% since the last read.

Government data out this morning showed the final read on third-quarter GDP at 3.5%, up from the initial read of 3.2%. Initial jobless claims came in at 275,000 versus 256,000. That’s still below 300,000 for the 94th straight week (Any number below 300,000 indicates a healthy economy.).

Tax cuts are coming

According to rumors out of Washington, D.C., this morning, the Democrats will work with the incoming Trump administration to get tax cuts pushed though Congress as early as this summer. This trend in the markets could last for some time and may indeed have legs to run higher. We still should expect minor setback corrections of 3%-8%, which would not be surprising.

As we head into a new year, it is important especially for millennial investors to stick to a long-term financial investment plan for the future. It was 44 years ago that I was throwing confetti up in the air as the Dow broke 1,000. This was a period of wild fluctuations in the market—one that saw the crash of 1987, the dot-com bust, 9/11, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and a host of other minor and major setbacks.

But still, here we are on the doorstep of 20,000. Though 40 years seems like a long time (and it is), believe me, it goes fast. It’s never too early to start planning for Dow 50,000 and maybe the Trump second inaugural.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-has-us-consumer-confidence-near-a-13-year-high-152245264.html
Donald Trump has US consumer confidence near a 13-year high
December 23, 2016

The final consumer sentiment reading from the University of Michigan for 2016 came in just below a 13-year high.

And it’s all about Donald Trump.

Consumer sentiment hit a 98.2 in December according to the UMich survey, the highest since January 2004.

“While the surge in confidence following Trump’s surprise election ended by mid December, it nonetheless led to the highest level of the Sentiment Index since January 2004,” said Richard Curtin, chief economist for the survey.

“An all-time record number of consumers (18%) spontaneously mentioned the expected favorable impact of Trump’s policies on the economy,” Curtin added. “This was twice as high as the prior peak (9%) recorded in 1981 when Reagan took office.”

Along with The Conference Board’s consumer confidence report — due out next week for the final time this year — and business surveys like the regional Federal Reserve reports and the NFIB’s small business optimism gauge, survey-based readings on the US economy have shown a general upswing since Trump’s election.

Initial jumps in these measures were, in part, attributed to some consumer relief that the election was over. Others were based on the view that potentially fewer regulations under a Trump administration would be good for business.

And while the overall numbers have made the post-Trump period appear like quite a honeymoon for the US economy, not all respondents, of course, are excited about what the next four years could bring.

“To be sure, nearly as many consumers referred unfavorably to anticipated changes in economic policies, but those references were less than half as frequent as the peak level recorded just three years ago (16% vs. 37%),” Curtin said.

Moreover, the view that both consumers and markets have of “Trumponomics” being good for the US economy is still mostly based in ideas and beliefs, not solid proposals.

“Needless to say, the overall gain in confidence was based on anticipated policy changes, with specific details as yet unknown,” Curtin said.

“Such favorable expectations could help jump-start growth before the actual enactment of policy changes, and form higher performance standards that will be used to judge the Trump presidency.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IradHTmmWCA

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/nasdaq-trades-at-record-high-as-dow-nears-20000/ar-BBxBTsL?li=AA4Zjn&ocid=spartandhp
12/27/16
Nasdaq trades at record high as Dow nears 20,000

Stocks traded higher Tuesday, kicking off the last trading week of the year on a positive note amid some economic reports.

The Nasdaq hit a new all-time intraday high, up 0.75 percent at 5,503, with shares of Apple and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) trading nearly 1 percent higher.

The Dow was up 38 points at 19,972, and the S&P 500 gained 0.38 percent.

Consumer confidence for December came in at 113.7, up from an upwardly revised 109.4 read in November.

"I think consumer confidence was OK," said Peter Coleman, head trader at Convergex.

"There's not a lot of institutional participation going on this morning. ... There's not a lot driving it right now," he said.

more

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/maga-panasonic-tesla-motors-open-factory-buffalo-creating-1400-jobs-immediately/
MAGA: Panasonic And Tesla Motors To Open Factory In Buffalo Creating Over 1,400 Jobs Immediately
Tesla Motors SolarCity Corp. has committed to investing $5 billion over 10 years in New York state, hiring almost 1,500 workers at the Buffalo plant for five years and employing at least 2,000 more people across New York in exchange for use of the state-owned plant.
12/27/16

Japanese electronics company Panasonic and U.S. electric car maker Tesla said Tuesday they plan to begin production of solar cells at a factory in Buffalo, New York.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Donald Trump’s vision for America has given our under-performing economy a massive jump start with many major corporations decided to stay with the U.S. and hire and rehire workers. It will be interesting to see the juxtaposition of  American prosperity and Middle East chaos when Trump moves the Embassy to Jerusalem.

The two companies said they finalized an agreement calling for Tokyo-based Panasonic to pay capital costs for the manufacturing. Palo Alto, California-based Tesla made a “long-term purchase commitment” to Panasonic. Their statement gave no financial figures.
Panasonic, Tesla To Produce Solar Cells:

The factory in Buffalo is under development by SolarCity Corp., a San Mateo, California-based solar panel company owned by Tesla. The photovoltaic cells and modules will be used in solar panels for non-solar roof products and solar glass tile roofs that Tesla plans to begin making, the announcement said.
Production is due to begin in mid-2017. Tesla said it will create 1,400 jobs in Buffalo, 500 in manufacturing and plans further expansion in Buffalo.

Panasonic also is to work with Tesla on next-generation technology, the companies said.

New York state has committed $750 million to build and outfit the plant at Buffalo’s RiverBend site, the centerpiece of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” program to revitalize the upstate region’s largest city.

SolarCity has committed to investing $5 billion over 10 years in New York state, hiring almost 1,500 workers at the Buffalo plant for five years and employing at least 2,000 more people across New York in exchange for use of the state-owned plant.

In October, when word emerged about the possible manufacturing collaboration, the head of New York state’s economic development agency said SolarCity will be held to job creation promises made when the state committed funding to build and outfit the plant, which is expected to begin production next summer. source

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/consumer-confidence-hits-highest-level-since-2001/ar-BBxCiUf?OCID=ansmsnnews11
12/27/16
Consumer confidence hits highest level since 2001

Consumer confidence surged in December to the highest level since 2001, reflecting an improved U.S. economy and anticipation of the incoming Trump administration.

The consumer confidence index jumped to 113.7 from a revised 109.4 in November, the Conference Board said Tuesday.

U.S. stock markets have rallied sharply to record highs since the surprise election of Donald Trump in November on the assumption that his administration will be good for business. The economy is also much improved, with the unemployment tumbling below 5%.

“The post-election surge in optimism for the economy, jobs and income prospects, as well as for stock prices which reached a 13-year high, was most pronounced among older consumers,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at board.

A measure of how confident Americans feel right now, known as the present situation index, dipped to 126.1 from 132. That’s still near the highest level in nine years, however.

An index that tracks expectations over the next six months rose to 105.5 from 94.4, marking the highest level since 2003.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/obama-edges-out-trump-in-poll-of-most-admired-man-in-2016-192207844.html
12/28/16
Obama edges out Trump in poll of most admired man in 2016

President-elect Donald Trump might have been the long-shot success story of the year, but his predecessor, President Obama, is still the most admired man in the U.S., according to a plurality of respondents in a new poll.

Gallup released the results of a new poll Wednesday that shows 22 percent of 1,028 American adults surveyed mentioned Obama when posed an open-ended question about the man they most admire in the world. Trump was named by 15 percent of respondents.

According to the polling company, this is Obama’s ninth straight win in this category, although his 7-point margin above Trump is his narrowest yet. The list also included Pope Francis, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Rev. Billy Graham, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Dalai Lama and plenty others.

Gallup explained that Obama’s win came down to the fact that more Democrats mentioned him than Republicans mentioned Trump. Half of Democratic respondents named Obama as most admired, while only 34 percent of Republican respondents went with Trump.

It is typical for sitting presidents to receive the designation. The president won 58 times out of the 70 times the question was asked — and the exceptions were when the incumbent president was particularly unpopular, such as former President George W. Bush in 2008. In fact, Obama’s winning the top spot that year was the first time for a president-elect since Dwight Eisenhower in 1952.

Americans also named Hillary Clinton as the most admired woman of the year for the 15th consecutive year and the 21st time in total. Clinton won a plurality of the 2016 poll’s vote, with 12 percent. Others included first lady Michelle Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Pakistani women’s rights activist Malala Yousafzai.

Obama and Clinton have been named the most admired man and woman, respectively, every year since 2008, when the former first won the U.S. presidential election. Trump placed in the top 10 five other times: 1988, 1989, 1990, 2011 and 2015.

Still, Trump’s meteoric rise to the highest office in the United States this year came as a shock to many. Time magazine named him the 2016 Person of the Year, a perpetually misunderstood designation, as it is not necessarily an honor. Since 1927, Time has named the person who had the greatest influence over the course of events for the year — for better or worse.

“For those who believe this is all for the better, Trump’s victory represents a long-overdue rebuke to an entrenched and arrogant governing class; for those who see it as for the worse, the destruction extends to cherished norms of civility and discourse, a politics poisoned by vile streams of racism, sexism, nativism,” wrote Time Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs.

The raucous nature of Trump’s presidential campaign appeared to subside a bit after he met with Obama at the White House for a conversation that was by all accounts cordial. Trump even complimented Obama — with whom he’s had a longstanding and nasty public feud — much to the chagrin of many supporters.

But after Obama told his former senior adviser and campaign manager David Axelrod that he thinks he would have beaten Trump had he been eligible to run a third time, Trump fired back on his favorite platform: Twitter.

Trump, who spearheaded the so-called birther moment and has no shortage of his own provocative statements, on Wednesday accused Obama of being “inflammatory.”

The Gallup poll was conducted from Dec. 7 to Dec. 11 through phone interviews with people from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. There was a quota for 60 percent cellphone participants and 40 percent landline participants.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/as-chicago-murder-rate-spikes-many-fear-violence-has-become-normalized/ar-BBxFvso?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
As Chicago Murder Rate Spikes, Many Fear Violence Has Become Normalized
12/28/16

CHICAGO — The nation’s third-largest city will end 2016 with a surging murder rate, a demoralized and distrusted police force and a weary populace that has become inured to daily reports of shootings.

More than 750 people have been murdered in Chicago in 2016, the police said, a 58 percent increase over last year and the highest total since 1997. There have been more than 3,500 shootings in the city this year.

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Over Christmas weekend, at least 60 people were shot, 11 fatally, according to  The Chicago Tribune. Two teenage girls were among those shot.


As the year draws to a close, residents and community leaders say they are despairing over the ceaseless violence, which city officials are trying to confront with more police officers and new law enforcement strategies. But many people here also worry that the shootings, primarily in African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods on the South and West Sides, have become normalized, a routine part of life.

“We should be embarrassed as a city, every single one of us, that we’ve allowed this city to become the poster boy of violence in America,” said the Rev. Michael Pfleger, an activist and pastor of a Catholic church on the South Side. “Are we just going to shake our heads and say, ‘What a terrible year in Chicago?’”

Father Pfleger, who often spars with elected officials, said he was searching for fresh ways to draw attention to the plague of gun violence. He is planning a rally on Saturday on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, a downtown avenue lined with high-end shops and restaurants, that will be attended by marchers carrying two-foot-high wooden crosses bearing the names of victims. Some victims’ relatives are expected to attend.

Chicago had more criminal homicides this year than New York and Los Angeles combined, despite having fewer residents than either city. Los Angeles had 288 through mid-December, up slightly from last year, and New York had 325, a decline from 2015. Still, Chicago’s per capita murder rate remains much lower than in several smaller cities, such as St. Louis and Baltimore.

Across the country, some cities have seen upticks in homicides while others have seen their numbers hold steady or decline. St. Louis, which had one of the country’s highest murder rates in 2015, had 183 criminal homicides as of Wednesday, roughly in line with its 188 in 2015. Milwaukee had 142 as of Wednesday and 146 in 2015. Criminal homicides have increased this year in Kansas City, Mo., Indianapolis and Dallas, and have declined in Cincinnati and Baltimore.

In Chicago, the surge in violence has become a national flash point.

“I’ve never seen so much attention and energy and focus being put on this epidemic of violence,” said the Rev. Ira Acree, whose church is on the West Side. “And yet instead of things getting better, it feels like things are getting worse.”

Representative Danny K. Davis, a Democrat whose district includes some of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods, said that he believed poverty was fueling the city’s bloodshed, and that Chicago needed to make investments “to revamp whole communities.”

“People struggle, and on top of that, in many instances, people have lost hope in their government,” Mr. Davis said. “They’ve lost hope that something is going to change for them. And if we can’t keep hope alive, then you don’t have to wonder whether things are going to get better or get worse: They’ll get worse.”

Last month, Mr. Davis’s 15-year-old grandson, Javon Wilson, was shot dead at a home in his grandfather’s congressional district. The Chicago police said a fight that preceded the shooting may have been over a pair of shoes, and two other teenagers have been charged in Javon’s death.

Matt McGrath, a spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, said in an email that “there is no single solution” to Chicago’s violence, and that Mr. Emanuel was “approaching this holistically.”

“The increase in violence, largely driven by gun crimes in the South and West Sides of the city, is unacceptable, and we’re working day and night to address it,” Mr. McGrath said. “In September, the mayor announced his plan to hire nearly 1,000 new police officers as part of a comprehensive law enforcement reform package designed to restore community trust and increase police effectiveness. At the same time, the mayor strongly believes this is not exclusively a police matter and is committed to making investments in education and citywide economic development — including the expansion of universal mentoring for young men in the most violent neighborhoods.”

Arthur Lurigio, a criminology professor at Loyola University Chicago, said that in addition to the proliferation of guns and deepening poverty, personal disputes among gang members have led to more shootings, often escalating quickly through social media.

“What’s different about this year, and what has added much more fuel to the fire that was already burning intensely, was social media as a way to communicate,” he said. “There are no rules governing gang members anymore. They’re solving interpersonal conflicts with murder.”

The spike in crime comes at a time of upheaval and uncertainty in the Chicago Police Department, with officers trying to tamp down violence while also mending long-strained relationships with residents of some of the most troubled neighborhoods. On Wednesday, the mayor and the police announced that they would speed up a plan to expand body-camera use by police officers, ensuring that every patrol officer would wear a camera by the end of 2017.

Protests and complaints of widespread police misconduct rocked Chicago last year after an officer was charged with murder in the 2014 death of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager, and video of the fatal shooting was released. Since then, other police shootings have also prompted protests here, including a teenager fatally shot in the back this summer after a car chase.

Fallout from the McDonald case led to the firing of the police superintendent, promises of new training and equipment, and a Justice Department investigation of Chicago police practices. Some have wondered whether the results of that federal inquiry will be announced before President Obama leaves office next month.

Eddie Johnson, the current Chicago police superintendent, recently spent time at the New York Police Department, studying techniques focused on community policing. He said in a statement that most of the shootings over Christmas weekend were targeted attacks by gang members and called on elected officials in Illinois to pass tougher gun laws.

“While we have promising leads, this unacceptable level of gun violence demonstrates the clear and present need for policy makers to convene in January and give Chicago the gun sentencing tools against repeat offenders so that we can adequately hold people accountable,” he said.

Dean Angelo Sr., president of the union that represents Chicago’s rank-and-file officers, said that department morale was low and that his members were “treading water.” He added that policing and violence had been inappropriately politicized, and that some elected officials were “being more anti-police in their platform as opposed to being anti-crime.”

“In some areas, the neighborhoods are on fire,” he said, “and they’re more worried about transparency and police issues.”

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/29/world/good-things-that-happened-2016-trnd/index.html
12/29/16
Dear world, I wasn't all bad. Signed, 2016

By Doug Criss, CNN

Updated 1:05 AM ET, Thu December 29, 2016

(CNN)I know, I know. You're SO over me. You lost a favorite celebrity. Your Samsung Galaxy exploded. You got really tired of Pokemon Go really fast. But look a little closer. I was also all kinds of awesome - in ways that left you a better place.

THE WORLD
There's finally peace in Colombia • Non-violent protests helped impeach a president in South Korea • Gambia voted out a dictator • The military no longer rules Myanmar • Lebanon picked a leader - after 45 tries • A Pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch met for the first time in 1,000 years

THE ENVIRONMENT
That big ozone hole over the Antarctic is starting to heal • India planted 50 million trees -- in one day! • Norway banned deforestation • The Paris Agreement to limit global warming is now international law

THE US
The high school graduation rate is at its highest • The teen birth rate kept on falling • The unemployment rate is the lowest in 10 years • Americans gave to charity more than ever before

HEALTH
Researchers found new genes that may help cure ALS (thanks ice bucket challenge) • There's hope for a new HIV vaccine • The measles is no more in the Americas • Sri Lanka proved you can finish off malaria • China bred good mosquitoes to fight the bad ones • West Africa is ebola-free (And an experimental vaccine is 100 percent effective)

HUMAN RIGHTS
Gambia and Tanzania banned child marriage • The death penalty is illegal in more than half the world • 300 African communities pledged to end female genital mutilation • A law against 'honor' killings finally passed in Pakistan

CONSERVATION
The tiger population rose for the first time in 100 years • Pandas are endangered no more • There were only 126 kakapo parrots left in the world; now there are 154! • Hawaii boasted the largest protected place on the planet

SPORTS
The Cubs finally won the World Series • Leicester City defied the odds to win the Premier League • The title-starved Cleveland won the NBA crown • The Olympic refugee team won our hearts

SPACE
There may be a ninth planet lurking in our solar system • Juno made it to Jupiter - after five years • Scientists found an Earth-like planet just 4.2 light years away • We got serious about putting humans on Mars

http://www.financespotlight.com/biotech-trump/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral
12/18/16
Could Biotech Market Soar with Donald Trump as President in 2016?

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that a lot rides on this movement. Political elections, cultural and societal shifts, medical benefits and financial windfalls all play a part, which is why we’d like to take the time to discuss one of the best, and most nuanced, market opportunities you’ll come across all year.

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump expressed his point of view on the current market. “Be careful of a bubble because what you’ve seen in the past might be small potatoes compared to what happens,” he said in his campaign announcement speech in June..

Donald Trump’s election to the presidency rocked global markets, sending stocks in the U.S. and abroad plunging as investors fled to safe havens like gold. Despite the initial pullback, there are ways to play the markets under a President Trump.

New market opportunities for the same old problems

In each state where the issue was on the ballot—Florida, Arkansas, Montana, and North Dakota—voters supported initiatives that would provide or expand patients’ access to cannabinoid products for ailments that include post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and glaucoma.

And last year at a political rally, Trump said, “In terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state-by-state,” adding, “I think medical should happen—right? Don’t we agree? I think so.” – [TheStreet.com]

New market opportunities are rising on the horizon and smart U.S. biotech companies could potentially use the momentum to skyrocket their sales. Prescription painkiller sales are set to increase by 15% and hit $8.4 billion by 2017, due in part to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to ban any generic versions of OxyContin based on the powerful painkiller’s original formulation, which does not include anti-abuse features designed to make the pill less addictive.


Experts are predicting a race across the pharmaceutical industry to create a market where all opioids have abuse-deterrent properties, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Chronic pain is something that nearly 25 million adult Americans suffer from on a daily basis. Add severe pain to that figure, and now you’re talking upwards of 50 million adults. Many of these tens of millions have no place to turn but to addictive opiates, a last—but only—line of resort for those who are looking to return to some semblance of a normal, functional life. Now think of what it would mean for that opiate market to be totally upended by a powerful but safe alternative. It could saves lives and families.

Pain relief is one of the biggest and broadest ongoing medical challenges of our time, and it’s a problem that’s led to unprecedented opiate addiction. But new science now offers a way out through the use of cannabosides that could replace dangerous opiates for pain relief.

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http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/new-congress-dominated-christians/2017/01/03/id/766581/
1/3/17
Pew Research: New Congress Still Dominated by Christians

The new Congress is still dominated by lawmakers who identify as Christians, a trend that has remained relatively unchanged over the last 55-plus years, according to Pew Research Center.

However, the amount of Christians currently on the Hill did drop by a percentage point from the 114th Congress, which was 91.8 percent Christian.

The religious composition of the 115th Congress, according to Pew:

    Christian: 90.7 percent.
    Protestant: 55.9 percent.
    Roman Catholic: 31.4 percent.
    Jewish: 5.6 percent.
    Mormon: 2.4 percent.

The nearly 91 percent of Christians is on par with the 95 percent of the 87th Congress from the early '60s, the first time the data was available, according to Pew.

However, the percentage of those identifying as Protestant has declined sharply since the 87th Congress, from 75 percent then to the 56 percent now.

Lawmakers identifying as Roman Catholic have increased from 19 percent to the 31 percent of the 115th Congress.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/01/04/liberal-churches-are-dying-but-conservative-churches-are-thriving/
1/4/17
Liberal churches are dying. But conservative churches are thriving.

A Canadian study found that conservative churches are still growing, while less orthodox congregations dwindle away.

Mainline Protestant churches are in trouble: A 2015 report by the Pew Research Center found that these congregations, once a mainstay of American religion, are now shrinking by about 1 million members annually. Fewer members not only means fewer souls saved, a frightening thought for some clergy members, but also less income for churches, further ensuring their decline.

Faced with this troubling development, clergy members have made various efforts to revive church attendance. It was almost 20 years ago that John Shelby Spong, a U.S. bishop in the Episcopalian Church, published his book “Why Christianity Must Change or Die.” It was presented as an antidote to the crisis of decline in mainline churches. Spong, a theological liberal, said congregations would grow if they abandoned their literal interpretation of the Bible and transformed along with changing times.

[Conservative Evangelicals see Trump’s win as their own]

Spong’s general thesis is popular with many mainline Protestants, including those in the United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian (U.S.A.) and Episcopal churches. Spong’s work has won favor with academics, too. Praising Spong’s work specifically, Karen L. King of Harvard Divinity School said in a review of Spong’s book that it “should be required reading for everyone concerned with facing head-on the intellectual and spiritual challenges of late-twentieth-century religious life.” Harvard Divinity professor and liberal theologian Harvey Cox said “Bishop Spong’s work is a significant accomplishment,” and indeed, Cox himself has long been at the task of shifting Christianity to meet the needs of the modern world. Thus, liberal theology has been taught for decades in mainline seminaries and preached from many mainline pulpits. Its enduring appeal to embattled clergy members is that it gives intellectual respectability to religious ideas that, on the surface, might appear far-fetched to modern audiences.

But the liberal turn in mainline churches doesn’t appear to have solved their problem of decline.

Over the last five years, my colleagues and I conducted a study of 22 mainline congregations in the province of Ontario. We compared those in the sample that were growing mainline congregations to those that were declining. After statistically analyzing the survey responses of over 2,200 congregants and the clergy members who serve them, we came to a counterintuitive discovery: Conservative Protestant theology, with its more literal view of the Bible, is a significant predictor of church growth while liberal theology leads to decline. The results were published this month in the peer-reviewed journal, Review of Religious Research.

We also found that for all measures, growing church clergy members were most conservative theologically, followed by their congregants, who were themselves followed by the congregants of the declining churches and then the declining church clergy members. In other words, growing church clergy members are the most theologically conservative, while declining church clergy members are the least. Their congregations meet more in the middle.

more

http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/06/news/economy/december-jobs-report-2016/index.html
1/6/17
Obama economy creates over 2 million jobs in 2016

The Obama economy closed out with a low 4.7% unemployment rate.

In December, his final full month in office, the U.S. economy added a slightly disappointing 156,000 jobs. It marked the 75th consecutive month of job gains, the best on record. For all of 2016, the U.S. added over 2 million new jobs.

Wages grew a solid 2.9% in December, the best pace since 2009. Wage growth has been one of the last measures to gain momentum during Obama's tenure.

America's job market has made progress under Obama's watch. U.S. unemployment hit a high of 10% in October 2009 and is now at less than half that level. The unemployment rate rose just a tad from 4.6% in November, the lowest rate since 2007.

Related: The Obama Economy in 10 charts

In total, the economy has added over 11 million jobs during Obama's presidency.

Experts and pundits often debate how much credit a president deserves for job growth. Some believe the Federal Reserve helped buoy the job market by keeping borrowing costs low in order to revive the housing market. Others criticize the Fed's decisions.

In any case, the American economy still has problems. Growth remains sluggish. The U.S. central bank expects growth to be a mere 2.1% this year.

Over 5 million Americans have part-time jobs but want to work full time. And many blue collar workers feel left behind in the economic recovery from the Great Recession -- a major factory that played into President-elect Donald Trump's election victory.

Despite the problems, the U.S. job market kept up its overall momentum right up until the end of 2016.

Obama climbs to 60 percent approval in final presidential approval rating, Post-ABC poll finds
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/obama-climbs-to-60-percent-approval-in-final-presidential-approval-rating-post-abc-poll-finds/ar-AAlYXuN?li=BBnb7Kz
1/18/17

Barack Obama leaves office Friday with six-in-10 Americans approving of his job performance, capping a steady rise that vaults him above the average final mark for modern presidents, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds.

Obama's high-note finish comes with plenty of dissonance, including persistent pessimism about the nation's direction and deep divisions after Donald Trump's victory in last year's presidential race after campaigning strongly against Obama's policies.

Yet Americans grew significantly more positive about Obama's presidency through the acidic 2016 campaign as perceptions of the economy improved. The president's approval ratings were underwater in July 2015, when 45 percent approved and 50 percent disapproved of his performance. But his overall approval grew a steady 50 percent by January of 2016, and rose again to 56 percent in June, never falling below the mid-50s through the fall campaign.

The latest Post-ABC poll shows Obama hitting 60 percent approval with 38 percent disapproving — his highest mark since June of his first year in office, when 65 percent approved of him. The latest poll finds 61 percent approve of Obama's handling of the economy, while a smaller 53 percent approve how he has handled the threat of terrorism and 52 percent rate him positively for handling health care.

(http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAlYXuE.img?h=537&w=728&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f)

Partisanship was the principal factor in ratings of Obama throughout his presidency, with Republicans souring on his performance by his second month in office and Democrats widely approving throughout his two terms. Independents are largely responsible for Obama's strong finish, with approval climbing from 44 percent at the start of 2016 to 61 percent in the latest poll.

more

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/19/politics/obamacare-approval-cnn-orc-poll/index.html
1/19/17
CNN/ORC Poll shows last-minute love for Obamacare

Washington (CNN)Americans views of Obamacare tilt narrowly positive, according to a new CNN/ORC poll, marking the first time more have favored than opposed the law since its passage in 2010. The shift comes at the same time more than 8-in-10 say the law is likely to be repealed and replaced by incoming president Donald Trump.

Overall, 49% say they favor the 2010 health care law, more formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, while 47% oppose it. Though a mostly mixed review overall, that's a sharp improvement compared with previous polling on the law.

More have opposed than favored the law in every CNN/ORC poll on this question from March 2010 until now. The shift in the law's favor stems largely from Democrats and independents, while views among Republicans haven't moved much.

The complete CNN/ORC poll results
Still, few feel the ACA has done much to help them personally. Just 22% say they or their families are better off since the law's provisions have gone into effect, and more, 30%, say that they are worse off now. About 3-in-10 say that the law hasn't actually helped anyone in the US, including 58% of Republicans who feel that way.

The law undoubtedly helped reduce the share of uninsured Americans, with the uninsured rate reaching historic lows following the implementation of some parts of the law, but Americans by and large don't see it as successful.

Almost 4-in-10 (37%) say they consider the law a failure, outnumbering the 23% who say they see the law as a success. That's an uptick since 2015, but nearly all of the increase in perceptions of the law as a success comes among Democrats, 46% of whom say so now, up from 19% in 2015.
The incoming Trump administration and the Republican Congress that will accompany it have called repealing Obamacare a top priority, and health care generally has risen in priority in the eyes of Americans. In the new poll, 14% cited health care as the most important issue facing the country, up sharply from the 3% who cited it last fall in a similar question about the most important issue in the presidential campaign.

more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKUhJwy0_pw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsQz5mHhsHw

http://amp.slate.com/blogs/outward/2017/01/23/texas_supreme_court_may_roll_back_same_sex_marriage_rights.html
Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Rolling Back Same-Sex Marriage Rights
By Mark Joseph Stern
Jan. 23 2017 5:10 PM

Back in September, the Texas Supreme Court refused to review a lower court ruling that cities may not deny married same-sex couples the benefits it provides to opposite-sex couples. That was a sensible decision, since this is an easy question: The U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decisions undoubtedly prohibit the government from depriving couples of marriage rights merely because they are gay. Yet the Texas Supreme Court’s inaction prompted outrage from state Republican officials and anti-gay activists, who urged the justices, who are elected, to take the case and allow Texas cities to discriminate against same-sex couples. And on Friday, the court took the first step, caving to Republican demands and agreeing to hear the case in March—a worrying sign that the justices, fearful of a re-election fight, may soon yield to political pressure and roll back marriage equality in Texas.

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/dow-jones-stock-market-hits-highest-number-ever-investors-rally-support-trump-bump-administration-policies/
TRUMP BUMP! Dow Jones Hits Highest Number Ever As Investors Rally In Support Of Trump Policies
The rally has been dubbed the “Trump bump,” as most of the run higher has occurred since Mr. Trump was elected president on Nov. 8. Investors have been bidding up stocks on the belief that he’ll ramp up infrastructure spending, cut corporate taxes, deregulate industries and give the economy a boost.
1/25/17

The Dow Jones Industrial Average just powered through the 20000 level for the first time ever, setting an all-time intraday high three trading days after the inauguration of Donald Trump.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Over a year ago, NTEB boldly went out on a limb and predicted that a Trump presidency would bring about a time of unparalleled prosperity in America. Looks like we were right about that. We also told you that it would also bring about a time of heretofore not seen fulfillment of Bible prophecy. That’s coming up next, take a trip to the NTEB THE LAST TRUMP archive and see for yourself.

Moments after the open, the Dow shot up to 20033.77. Grab your hats.

The new record comes as stocks have been on the rise for much of the past three months, finding fresh legs since Election Day to add to one of the longest bull-market runs in U.S. history. The Dow industrials closed under 18000 as recently as Nov. 4, but have risen 12% since then.
Dow Jones pushes toward 20,000: What’s fueling the Trump bump?

The rally has been dubbed the “Trump bump,” as most of the run higher has occurred since Mr. Trump was elected president on Nov. 8. Investors have been bidding up stocks on the belief that he’ll ramp up infrastructure spending, cut corporate taxes, deregulate industries and give the economy a boost.

The broader S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have also set several records since the election, and are both flirting with fresh highs again Friday. read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4uoyIbgz5c&t=0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSPqKcoytIc

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/great-intel-ceo-says-ready-create-3k-jobs-az-investing-7-billion-local-economy/
GREAT AGAIN: Intel CEO Says Ready To Create 3K Jobs In AZ, Investing $7 Billion In Local Economy
The chips will be produced there will be "the most powerful computer chips on the planet," Krzanich said in the Oval Office with the Trump administration. Most Intel manufacturing happens in the U.S., Krzanich said.
2/8/17

Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, where the company announced it will invest $7 billion in a factory employing up to 3,000 people.

The factory will be in Arizona, the company said, and over 10,000 people in the Arizona area will support the factory. Krzanich confirmed to CNBC that the investment would be in a previous plant, Fab 42, that was started and then left vacant.

The chips will be produced there will be “the most powerful computer chips on the planet,” Krzanich said in the Oval Office with the Trump administration. Most Intel manufacturing happens in the U.S., Krzanich said.

It comes as the technology industry has pushed back against the Trump administration, amid mounting pressure to move manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

Intel was one of more than 100 companies that joined together to file a legal brief opposing Trump’s temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority nations.

The White House had said earlier that Vice President Mike Pence would speak on Wednesday with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a member of Trump’s business advisory council, whose companies had also signed onto the brief.

Intel has been criticized in conservative publications such as Breitbart, for laying off thousands of staffers, despite an influx of visa requests. source

“Many people are caught up with the toys of contemporary society. Because of great advancements in our culture, some have cultivated an attitude of “comfortability.” They may be going to hell, but it is going to be a comfortable ride for them.”
― A.W. Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John

http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/01/investing/dow-21000-trump-speech/index.html
3/1/17
Dow soars 300 points, closes above 21,000 for the first time

Wall Street gave President Trump's first speech to Congress a standing ovation.

The Dow soared 303 points to close above 21,000 for the first time ever on Wednesday. The milestone comes barely a month after the Dow hit 20,000 for the first time.

Trump's prime time address to Congress on Tuesday received high marks from viewers, and has clearly left Wall Street in good spirits, too. The Dow generated its biggest point gain since November 7, a rally that came after the FBI cleared Hillary Clinton in the email investigation.

It's not that the speech gave investors the policy details they were seeking. If anything, Trump gave fewer specifics on major issues like tax reform, Obamacare and deregulation than many expected.

The key for Wall Street was the tone of Trump's speech: He sounded a lot more optimistic and presidential than in previous speeches.

"The speech didn't break any new ground, but it was much more orderly and methodical than we are used to hearing," said Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at brokerage firm ConvergEx.

"It was a solid speech from the perspective of putting Trump on a truly presidential footing," Colas said.

For instance, Trump asked members of Congress to "join me in dreaming big, and bold and daring things for our country."

more

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/great-massive-explosion-new-jobs-america-embraces-president-trump-vision/
GREAT AGAIN: Massive Explosion Of New Jobs As America Embraces President Trump’s Economic Vision
The report from ADP, a global human resources and payroll firm, provides the first hard economic numbers from President Donald Trump's first full month as president. Trump wrote Wednesday on Twitter about another similar measure, citing numbers from a new LinkedIn workforce report that showed strong job-adding numbers from January and February.
3/8/17

Under President Trump U.S. companies added a whopping 298,000 new jobs in February, beating economists’ expectations by more than 100,000.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Donald Trump’s pledge to make America great again is being realized with an unprecedented explosion in new job creation in the month of February alone. So here is something you need to think about. When Democrats pledge to “stop Trump“, they are also pledging to kill the economy and working to keep people unemployed. Democrats don’t want to stop Trump as much as they want to cripple an America that has rejected their Socialist vision. That would make Democrats the enemy of our country. Think about that.

The report from ADP, a global human resources and payroll firm, provides the first hard economic numbers from President Donald Trump’s first full month as president.

Trump wrote Wednesday on Twitter about another similar measure, citing numbers from a new LinkedIn workforce report that showed strong job-adding numbers from January and February.

more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zITuguchcsM

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/isis-k-suffering-massive-losses-president-trump-keeps-campaign-promise-wipe/
ISIS-K Suffering Massive Losses As President Trump Keeps Campaign Promise To “Wipe Them Out”
“As ISIS-K’s losses have mounted, they are using [improvised bombs], bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense,” said Army Gen. John W. Nicholson, top commander of U.S. and NATO forces, after the U.S. strike on the jihadist group in Afghanistan.“This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K.”
4/14/17

The U.S. military said it had degraded the number of Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) fighters in Afghanistan by an estimated 80 percent to about 600 jihadists before dropping the largest non-nuclear bomb on the terrorist group on Thursday.

“As ISIS-K’s losses have mounted, they are using [improvised bombs], bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense,” said Army Gen. John W. Nicholson, top commander of U.S. and NATO forces, after the U.S. strike on the jihadist group in Afghanistan.“This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K.”

The Pentagon confirmed that the U.S. military dropped the “mother of all bombs,” officially known as the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, on an Islamic State tunnel complex in Achin district, located in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, marking the first time the massive 21,600-pound bomb was used in battle.

U.S. military officials have identified eastern Afghanistan’s opium-rich Nangarhar province, located along the country’s border with Pakistan, as the group’s primary stronghold in the region.

more

122 countries adopt 'historic' UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons
None of the 9 countries known or believed to possess nuclear weapons supported the treaty

7/7/17

More than 120 countries approved the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons Friday at a UN meeting boycotted by all nuclear-armed nations.

To loud applause and cheers, Elayne Whyte Gomez, president of the UN conference that has been negotiating the legally binding treaty, announced the results of the "historic" vote — 122 nations in favour, the Netherlands opposed, and Singapore abstaining. Canada did not take part in negotiations.

"The world has been waiting for this legal norm for 70 years," since the use of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 at the end of the Second World War, she said.

The treaty is "the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to be concluded in more than 20 years," Whyte Gomez said.

more

http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=87315
Big News From the U.S. Border!

Since Trump has been in office, the number of illegal entry has dropped by 53% at the border.

From The Washington Examiner:

The significant downturn in the number of illegal border crossers between the U.S. and Mexico is "nothing short of miraculous," National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd said on C-SPAN Monday.


"As far as the Trump administration's efforts on immigration, this is something they campaigned heavily on," he said. "At six months, where we are on meeting those promises, we are seeing nothing short of miraculous. (Link: www.washingtonexaminer.com) you look at the rhetoric that President Trump has given, it has caused a number of illegal border crossings to go down. We have never seen such a drop that we currently have."

"There's a vibe, there's an energy in the Border Patrol that's never been there before in 20 years that I've been in the patrol," Judd added in a separate Fox News interview.

This month, Customs and Border Protection reported a 53 percent decrease in the number of apprehensions at the southwest border since last year. The number also includes those deemed inadmissible. CBP sees apprehensions as a proxy for how many people are trying to cross the border, and says the drop in apprehensions indicates a drop in attempted illegal crossings.

7/17/17

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-25/u-s-consumer-confidence-unexpectedly-rises-to-four-month-high

Pickup in Confidence Shows Americans Upbeat on Jobs, Economy
By Scott Lanman
July 25, 2017, 9:04 AM CDT July 25, 2017, 9:28 AM CDT

A four-month high in U.S. consumer confidence reflects Americans’ sunnier views on both their current situation and outlook, a positive sign for the economy, data from the New York-based Conference Board showed Tuesday.


https://news.grabien.com/story-gas-prices-fall-12-year-low-schumer-claims-gas-prices-never

As Gas Prices Fall to 12-Year Low, Schumer Claims Gas Prices 'Never Go Down'
'People hate it when their cable bills, airline fees go up'


http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/07/20/food-stamp-use-falls-lowest-level-seven-years/

Food Stamp Use Falls to Lowest Level in Seven Years


http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/boom-mining-216-q1-construction-56-manufacturing-47-bust-finance-and

Boom: Mining +21.6% in Q1; Construction +5.6%; Manufacturing +4.7%; Bust: Finance and Insurance -2.1%
By Terence P. Jeffrey | July 21, 2017 | 11:06 AM EDT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOoakFwOvKc

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dow-closing-22000-132905210.html
DOW 22,000
August 2, 2017

The Dow Jones Industrial Average cracked a new milestone on Wednesday: 22,000.

The blue chip index rallied on the back of Apple (AAPL), which gained 4.7% to be tops for the index after reporting better-than-expected earnings on Tuesday after the bell.

Because the Dow is a price-weighted index — meaning it gives weight to members based on the price of its shares, not is market cap — Apple’s surge on Wednesday added about 50 points to the index.

The Dow ultimately gained 52 points, or 0.24%, to close at 22,016.24.

Elsewhere in markets, it was a mixed day with the S&P 500 gaining 1 point, or 0.05%, and the Nasdaq losing just 0.29 points for a move of 0%. Breadth in the market was not particularly impressive, however, with declining stocks outpacing advancers by a margin of about two to one.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar fell to a 27-month low and has erased all of its post-election gains. The dollar had rallied after Donald Trump’s win in anticipation of higher economic growth and potential trade restrictions coming from the administration. Fundamentally, however, the economic picture has not changed in the U.S. with Trump in the White House.

The headline stock indexes on Wednesday masked some churn below the surface, notably in Chinese stocks, which sold off on reports the Trump administration could be looking into Chinese intellectual property rules.

On Tuesday morning, Trump again tweeted about the stock market — a recurring theme over the last few weeks — saying the market could hit an all-time high of 22,000.

The economic highlight was research institute ADP’s report on private sector payroll growth in July, which showed 178,000 jobs were added to the economy during the month, slightly less than expected by economists.

This report comes two days ahead of the government’s official jobs numbers set for release on Wednesday.

http://truthfeed.com/5-incredible-ways-trump-is-already-making-america-greater/97870/

5 INCREDIBLE Ways Trump Is ALREADY Making America Greater!
Politics By Just In August 4, 2017

President Trump and his administration have made some huge steps forward in the quest to Make America Great Again.

Here are five of the most important things that President Trump has accomplished over the last few weeks.

Ending Affirmative Action

Recently, the Trump administration has begun the process of ending the outdated and outright racist policy of affirmative action, focusing on school admissions to start with.

Affirmative action is, in itself, a racist concept; it essentially portrays certain racial and ethnic minorities, specifically African Americans, as somehow inferior to other races.

The policy comes from a time when segregation was still occurring in schools, and black Americans faced far more obstacles.
Today, however, it is outdated and is doing far more harm than good, it needs to go.

Immigration Reform

The next big thing Trump has done recently is his announcement for immigration reform.

Now, we will be focusing on successful, English speaking immigrants, rather than opening the door to hordes of third world, unskilled, non-English speaking migrants; this will make a tremendous difference in the quality of life for all Americans.

By focusing on people who will succeed, rather than those who will simply come here to take advantage of the system, a new era of prosperity and growth for America is on the horizon.

Ending the Trans Insanity in the Military

President Trump has also announced, to the cheers and support of our military, that transgender individuals will not be allowed to serve in the armed forces any longer.

After Obama used our military as a perverse and twisted social experiment, President Trump is completely committed to helping our servicemen and women, and will no longer subject them to the foolish and dangerous “politically correct” environment that was fostered under the previous administration.

Obama put our soldiers in danger by forcing them to deal with left-wing, P.C. foolishness, while cutting their budget and completely abusing them- all while he disparaged their service from the podium with every opportunity available.

Unleashing ICE

Another achievement of the Trump administration has been to “unchain” ICE, thereby allowing our Immigration officers to do their jobs.

Already, we have seen a tremendous drop in the number of illegal aliens attempting to cross the border, and arrests are up exponentially in just a few months’ time.

Deportations are also up, as our federal immigration officers are no longer forced to turn a blind eye to the waves of illegal aliens who’re arrested every single day.

Setting the Stage For THE WALL

This is yet another contrast to Obama’s disastrous policies, and a complete turnaround from Obama’s extremely weak immigration policy in specific.

Going hand in hand with this is, of course, Trump’s “The Wall” plan, which has seen major progress in recent weeks.

“Trump’s Wall” has been granted funding recently, and already, construction is underway, as well as testing of designs in San Diego, California.

With this amazing feat of architecture, President Trump has vowed to stem the flow of illegal aliens who have spent decades pouring over our borders, and have gone on to commit a multitude of crimes against the American people.

Ignore the Liberal Mainstream Media Lies

Despite the narrative from the biased, lying, anti-Trump mainstream media, President Trump has made huge strides in keeping his promises to the American people.

In less than one full year in office, Trump has accomplished so much, and his accomplishments come despite massive obstruction from both Democrats and establishment “Republicans,” all of whom have fought our president every step of the way.

Make no mistake, it will be a long and difficult battle ahead, but under President Trump, America is making a comeback in major ways.

No matter what we face as a country, we are committed to pulling ourselves out of the rut that Obama’s failed presidency left us in.

With a strong and determined leader like Donald Trump, and a good bit of effort on our part, there is no doubt that we will Make America Great Again.

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/maga-economists-stunned-trump-presidency-adds-1000000-new-jobs-just-6-months/
MAGA: Economists Are Stunned As Trump Presidency Adds 1,000,000 New Jobs In Just 6 Months
Defying expectations that job creation would slump this year, America has added more than 200,000 jobs in four out of Trump’s six months in office. That brought the total number of jobs created since the start of February to 1.07 million. On average, the economy created 179,000 jobs in each of the first six months of Trump’s presidency. The Trump administration is pressing forward on tax cuts and regulatory reform, efforts which might also bolster jobs creation.
8/4/17

The American economy has added more than one million jobs since President Donald Trump took office.

EDITOR’S NOTE: President Trump is doing exactly what he said he would do, and one million new jobs since he took over certainly attests to that fact. This is why he is so relentlessly attacked, because the fake news media and the Democrats have to make sure Trump fails , they need Trump to fail or they lose power forever. And if that means concocting a fake news narrative about Russian collusion and keeping it going for the next 4 years, that’s exactly what they are going to do.

Defying expectations that job creation would slump this year, America has added more than 200,000 jobs in four out of Trump’s six months in office. That brought the total number of jobs created since the start of February to 1.07 million. On average, the economy created 179,000 jobs in each of the first six months of Trump’s presidency.

Many economists thought that job creation would slow this year after jobs surged in the final two years of the Obama administration. Falling unemployment and an aging population were expected to slow down monthly payroll growth to between 125,00 to 150,000 on average.
The Obama failure couldn’t comprehend how Trump could add new jobs because Obama had no idea how to do it:

    1 million new jobs in 6 months
    209k new jobs in July
    Unemployment rate at 16 yr low
    Thanks, @POTUS! pic.twitter.com/5vQaEY9nQP

    — GOP (@GOP) August 4, 2017

The unemployment rate has fallen to 4.3 percent, a level that many economists consider near full employment. Wages, however, have not risen by as much as most economists would expect if the economy were operating at full employment. That suggests there may be more room for improvement.

The labor force participation rate remains low, indicating that there may be more room for the economy to grow as low unemployment and rising wages lure Americans back to work.

The Trump administration is pressing forward on tax cuts and regulatory reform, efforts which might also bolster jobs creation.

The Republican Party sent out this tweet to celebrate the landmark. source

16 years ago was roughly pre-9/11. Buckle up...

http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=88942
Boom! Unemployment rate at 16 year low!

https://twitter.com/GOP/status/893532515474034693

8/4/17

http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2017/july/bible-studies-at-the-white-house-whos-at-the-heart-of-this-spiritual-awakening
Bible Studies at the White House: Who's Inside This Spiritual Awakening?

WASHINGTON – A spiritual awakening is underway at the White House.

Some of the most powerful people in America have been gathering weekly to learn more about God's Word, and this Trump Cabinet Bible study is making history.

They've been called the most evangelical Cabinet in history – men and women who don't mince words when it comes to where they stand on God and the Bible.

Ralph Drollinger of Capitol Ministries told CBN News, "These are godly individuals that God has risen to a position of prominence in our culture."

They're all handpicked by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

For more, tune into Faith Nation, Wed. @12:30pm, on facebook.com/cbnnews. White House Correspondent Jennifer Wishon will be LIVE to discuss this Bible study's impact on the White House climate.

"I don't think Donald Trump has figured out that he chained himself to the Apostle Paul," Drollinger laughed.

Drollinger is a former NBA-playing giant of a man with an even bigger calling. He founded Capitol Ministries with the idea that if you change the hearts of lawmakers, then their Christian world view will guide them to make good policies.

He's started Bible studies in 40 state capitols, a number of foreign capitols, teaches weekly studies in the U.S. House and Senate and now leads about a dozen members of President Trump's Cabinet in weekly studies of the scriptures.

Health Secretary Tom Price, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Agriculture Secretary Sunny Perdue, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo are just a few of the regulars.

"It's the best Bible study that I've ever taught in my life. They are so teachable; they're so noble; they're so learned," Drollinger said.

It's groundbreaking since he doesn't think a formal Bible study among executive Cabinet members has been done in at least 100 years.

America's top cop, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, also attends the study.

"He'll (Jeff Sessions) go out the same day I teach him something and I'll see him do it on camera and I just think, 'Wow, these guys are faithful, available and teachable and they're at Bible study every week they're in town,'" Drollinger said.

President Trump is invited to attend the Bible studies, too. Each week he receives a copy of Drollinger's teaching.

And Vice President Pence is also planning to join the study as his schedule permits. He also serves as a sponsor.

In Pence, Drollinger sees many similarities to biblical figures like Joseph, Mordecai and Daniel – all men who rose to the number two position in governments at different times in history.

"Mike Pence has respect for the office. He dresses right - like it says Joseph cleaned himself up before he went to stand before the Pharaoh," Drollinger told CBN News.

"Mike Pence has uncompromising biblical tenacity and he has a loving tone about him that's not just a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal," he continued. "And then fourthly, he brings real value to the head of the nation."   

Like others, Drollinger often compares President Trump to biblical strongman Samson.

"I just praise God for them," he said. "And I praise God for Mike Pence, who I think with Donald Trump chose great people to lead our nation."

http://truthfeed.com/trumps-new-immigration-crackdown-leads-to-higher-construction-wages/98824/

Trump’s New Immigration Crackdown Leads to Higher Construction Wages
Politics By Eren Moreno August 7, 2017

President Trump’s crackdown on illegals is already having a positive impact on American workers!

The construction industry is now set to see a HUGE increase in wages.

After decades of stiffing American born citizens in favor of cheap, subpar labor from illegal aliens, the construction industry is now seeing a boom in hiring American workers.

In a way, it’s a real shame that it took a Presidential mandate to force these people to hire AMERICANS instead of illegals, but they’ve been allowed to get away with it for decades.

Now, under President Trump, Americans are seeing jobs that were once all but completely lost to illegals being opened up again, and it’s amazing.

Wonder how the media will spin this to be a negative?

From Breitbart

In a new report by Fox News, Texas construction companies admitted that Trump’s increased enforcement of immigration was forcing them to pay higher wages to U.S. construction workers.

Fox News reported:

    “Half of the workers in construction in Texas are undocumented,” [Stan Marek, CEO of Marek Construction] said.

    “We do hear that there are a lot of undocumented workers that are leaving the state, going to other states that don’t have the anti-immigrant sentiment and many of them are going back to Mexico.”

    Ted Wilson with Residential Strategies, Inc. has run the numbers.

    “We’ve seen direct construction costs climb by over 30 percent,” Wilson said, “and a lot of that is directly attributed to what builders are having to pay their subs and trades in wages.”

    Meaning, with so few workers out there, construction companies have had to pay more to attract them, which adds to the cost of a home.

The big business lobby and CEOs have long criticized Trump’s immigration crackdown, primarily because their businesses have a direct interest in keeping the pipeline of low-skilled foreign workers coming to the U.S. to drive down the cost of American wages.

Trump’s most recent endorsement of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) and Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) RAISE Act, which would cut legal immigration in half in order to drive up the wages of U.S. workers, has shown a renewed commitment to the economic nationalist agenda that propelled his election.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSFoDJnVVUQ

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/08/11/in-trump-era-u-s-corporations-see-best-earnings-13-years/
In Trump Era, U.S. Corporations See Best Earnings in 13 Years

As President Trump’s administration enters the last half of its first year, U.S. corporations are experiencing their best earnings in 13 years, a report finds.

Bloomberg reports that U.S. corporate profits in the second quarter “have beaten estimates at more than three-quarters of the Standard & Poor’s 500 member companies. In every sector, at least half of the companies have surpassed or met expectations, with many also getting a boost from a sinking U.S. dollar.”

“Growth was particularly strong in key regions of North America and Europe, where we grew sales greater than twice GDP, as well as throughout Asia-Pacific,” Dow Chief Executive Officer Andrew Liveris said.

Europe supported U.S. growth during the first three months of this year, but during the second three months, emerging markets came in strong for U.S. earnings.

Mark Luschini of financial service company Janney Montgomery Scott told Bloomberg that multinational corporations are seeing growth and higher earnings in both the U.S. and overseas operations.

Bloomberg reported:

    Of the 454 companies in the S&P 500 that have so far reported second-quarter results, 68 percent have beaten analysts’ average estimates for revenue, and 78 percent have topped per-share earnings expectations, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings rose an average of 9.8 percent, while sales have climbed 5.5 percent.

Indeed, even as U.S. prospects rise, so has that of much of the world’s economy.

“More of the global economy is participating in this recovery simultaneously, and that’s what shows up in the top-line results, particularly in technology,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group.

The health care and banking sectors have also seen great growth.

Analysts expect this growth to continue into the third quarter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No3wOPUsbcg

http://revolutionradio.org/2017/08/06/under-trump-gains-against-isis-have-dramatically-accelerated-with-nearly-a-third-of-all-territory-taken-from-isis-in-iraq-and-syria-since-2014-having-come-in-the-past-six-months/
8/6/17
Under Trump, gains against ISIS have ‘dramatically accelerated’ with nearly a THIRD of all territory taken from ISIS in Iraq and Syria since 2014 having come in the past six months


https://www.infowars.com/savage-civil-war-if-trump-taken-down/
Savage: Civil War If Trump Taken Down
Americans – not Russians – elected Trump
Kit Daniels | Infowars.com - August 6, 2017

Millions of Americans will revolt if the globalists remove President Trump from office or render him powerless, radio host Michael Savage warned.

Americans could even “resort to mob violence” because they’ll have nothing to lose once they “are finally aware of the fact that they’ve been tricked by their society, and that no matter how hard they work as middle-class people” they have nothing to gain, the Savage Nation host said Friday.

“That is what’s going to happen in this country,” he pointed out. “You have not yet seen mob violence in this country. You’ve seen some mob violence instigated by George Soros’ mobs.”

https://twitter.com/FoxBusiness/status/908421902032502784

#BreakingNews: The Dow closes at a new record high for the 3rd straight session. http://fxn.ws/2h5rZk8

9/14/17

http://truthfeednews.com/breaking-dems-defeated-illegal-deportation-bill-passes/

BREAKING: Dems DEFEATED! Deportation Bill for Illegals PASSES!
Breaking News By Amy Moreno September 15, 2017

We can decalre a victory for America with the passing of a bill that immediatly deports illegal gang members.

Of course, Democrats fought it.

Democrats see criminals as a potential vote, and will gladly endanger your life in hopes of winning an election or two.

http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=94854
9/14/17

ISIS Abandons Syria!

The Islamic State has set their new sights on the Philippines after they lost ground in Syria and Iraq.

From NBC News:

A video released by ISIS asks would-be fighters to go to the Philippines instead of Syria and Iraq, the latest sign that the terror group is shifting its recruiting tactics as it loses ground to coalition forces in the Middle East.

The seven-minute, English-language video, released by the official ISIS media operation late last month, includes messages from several fighters in the Southern Philippines, and scenes from battles with government troops near the city of Marawi, including the pillaging of a Catholic church.

One of the fighters calls on Muslims in "East Asia, specifically those in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, and Singapore" to migrate and fight alongside the ISIS-linked militants in the Philippines.

A militant identified as "Abul-Yamaan from Marawi" proclaims: "Come forth to the land of jihad. Perform hijrah. Come forth to … Marawi."

http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=95616
9/19/17

President Trump's intervention between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates saved the world from the two nations going to war with Qatar.

From Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates considered taking military action in the early stages of their ongoing dispute with Qatar, until Donald Trump called leaders of both countries and warned them to back off, according to two people familiar with the U.S. president’s intervention.

The two Gulf countries were looking at ways to remove the Qatari regime, which they accused of sponsoring terrorism and cozying up to Iran, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were confidential. Trump told Saudi and U.A.E. leaders that any military action would trigger a crisis across the Middle East that would only benefit the Iranians, one of the people said.

It wasn’t clear when the conversations took place. The Saudis, backed by the U.A.E. and two other regional allies, broke off diplomatic ties with Qatar in early June, imposed an economic embargo and cut transport links. They’ve since issued multiple demands, including the closure of Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, that haven’t been met. Qatar denies all the accusations and accuses the Saudis of seeking to dominate smaller neighbors.

Saudi Arabia denied that military action was ever considered. The allegations are entirely incorrect, have already been denied, and amount to nothing more than typically misleading Qatari propaganda, said a Saudi official source familiar with the matter. Emirati officials have said in the past that the dispute can only be resolved by political, not military, means. A Bloomberg reporter who requested comment was directed to those past statements.

A U.S. official familiar with the conversations said that Trump put pressure on all parties and encouraged Qatar to reach out to the Saudi-led bloc.

‘Thank God’

The dispute among some of the world’s top energy producers flared up a few days after Trump visited Saudi Arabia on his first overseas trip as president, and he was closely involved from the start. Trump publicly backed the Saudi demands, while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other administration members took a more cautions line. Saudi Arabia is a longstanding U.S. ally, while Qatar hosts the biggest American military base in the region.

The standoff has yet to be resolved, despite efforts by Kuwait to mediate. Trump made a push to settle it this month, after talks in Washington with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah. The U.S. president made a flurry of calls with Gulf leaders, saying the dispute was distracting U.S. allies from forging a united front against Iran.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/09/20/fed-remove-economys-crutch-shrink-4-5-t-holdings/684758001/
9/20/17
Fed to remove economy's crutch, shrink $4.5T holdings

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy is finally sturdy enough for the Federal Reserve to withdraw the extraordinary support it has provided it since the depths of the recession and financial crisis.

In a move that that could nudge consumer borrowing costs higher, the Fed agreed Wednesday to begin gradually shedding much of the roughly $3.5 trillion in bonds it snapped up during and after the downturn to lower long-term interest rates.

"We're working down our balance sheet because we think in some sense it's no longer needed," Fed Chair Janet Yellen said at a news conference. "We feel the U.S. economy is performing well."

And while the Fed held its key short-term interest rate steady, at a range of 1% to 1¼%, it maintained its forecast for a third rate hike in 2017 and three increases next year. But in a nod to weak inflation, the Fed cut its projection from three rate increases to two in 2019. By 2020, the Fed expects its benchmark rate to be 2.9%, and it trimmed its estimate of the rate over the longer-run to 2.8% from 3%.

more

http://www.snopes.com/dollar-tree-closing-stores/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Dollar Tree Closing All Stores?
Neither Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, nor Dollar General is closing all their stores, despite a widespread rumor on social media.

As screenshots and shares of the rumor spread, many conflated Dollar Tree with competitors Family Dollar or Dollar General, causing confusion about which chain of low-price retail stores was purportedly closing. Regardless, React365 is a prank generator that allows users to fabricate their own phony headlines for sharing on social media:

(http://static.snopes.com/app/uploads/2017/06/prank-your-friends.jpg)

Tennessee Church Shooter Suspect Identified As 25-Year-Old From Sudan

Nashville Police have identified the suspect of a mass shooting at a church Sunday morning as 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson.

Samson is being charged with murder and multiple counts of attempted murder in the attack that killed one and left at least seven other people injured at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, a town just south of Nashville, Tenn.

Samson is a bodybuilder who attended high school in Tennessee and is originally from Karthoum, Sudan, according screenshots of the suspect’s Facebook page obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation before the account was taken down. Police say he is a legal resident and came to the U.S. in the 1990s.

A Nashville Police Department spokesman said the shooter entered the church after 11 a.m. CST wearing a neoprene ski mask. One woman was shot in the parking lot before the shooter entered the church and opened fire on about 42 people still inside.

One church member, 22-year-old Caleb Engle, confronted the shooter before being pistol whipped in the face. Engle then went to his car to retrieve a gun, which he has under a concealed carry license.

Engle returned to the church to confront the gunman again. The gunman shot himself in the face when the man returned, possibly by accident.

“He’s the hero here,” Nashville police chief Steve Anderson said. “He’s the person who stopped this madness in its tracks.”

http://dailycaller.com/2017/09/24/tennessee-church-shooter-suspect-identified-as-25-year-old-from-sudan/

http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=96746
President Trump Just Set A Refugee Cap!!
9/26/17

President Trump and his administration intend on introducing a refugee cap of 45,000 admissions.

From The Hill:

The Trump administration is planning to lower the cap for refugee admissions to 45,000 — its lowest point since the U.S. began setting the limits in 1980.

The Wall Street Journal reported the proposed cap on Tuesday, but said the number will not be finalized until President Trump confers with members of Congress on Wednesday.

The planned decrease is Trump's latest move to curb the the number of refugees allowed to enter the U.S. After taking office in January, he lowered the cap to 50,000 and also tried to temporarily suspend refugee admissions altogether as part of his travel ban executive orders.

Former President Obama announced last year that the U.S. would accept up to 110,000 refugees in 2017. In recent years, the cap has generally fallen between 70,000 and 80,000.

http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=96742
Wall Prototype Construction Starts Today!
9/26/17

Fox News
✔
@FoxNews

Wall Prototype Construction Starts Today
10:00 AM - Sep 26, 2017

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/trump-says-unnamed-country-plans-build-expand-five-005605728--business.html
Trump says unnamed country plans to build, expand five U.S. auto plants
9/27/17

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday an unnamed foreign leader told him at the United Nations last week that the country would soon announce plans to build or expand five automobile industry factories in the United States.

"I just left the United Nations last week and I was told by one of the most powerful leaders of the world that they are going to be announcing in the not too distant future five major factories in the United States, between increasing and new, five," Trump said in a speech on tax reform in Indianapolis. He added the factories were in the automotive industry.

Trump did not name the country or its leader. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and 12 other leaders in New York at the U.N. General Assembly meeting last week, but did not meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel who was in Germany ahead of an election.

Automakers in Japan and Germany have both announced investments in the United States this year, with companies coming under pressure from Trump’s bid to curb imports and hire more workers to build cars and trucks in the U.S.

Investments to expand U.S. vehicle production capacity also reflect intensified competition for market share in the world’s most profitable vehicle market.

In August, Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> said it would build a $1.6 billion U.S. assembly plant with Mazda Motor Corp <7261.T>.

Toyota also said this week it was investing nearly $375 million in five U.S. manufacturing plants to support U.S. production of hybrid powertrains.

Last week, German automaker Daimler AG said it would spend $1 billion to expand its Mercedes Benz operations near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to produce batteries and electric sport utility vehicles and create more than 600 jobs.

Rival German luxury automaker BMW AG said in June it would expand its U.S. factory in South Carolina, adding 1,000 jobs.

And last month, Volkswagen AG’s brand president Herbert Diess said the company expected to bring electric SUV production to the United States and could add production at its Tennessee plant.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and David Shepardson; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Clive McKeef)

https://twitter.com/BigLeague2020/status/914145389477015552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.embedly.com%2Fwidgets%2Fcard.html%23sid%3D563e1b91224c4f099e08c7e20d8d8c5a

.@POTUS Trump's #MAGAnomics #AmericaFirst

2️nd Qtr. GDP Grew By 3.1%

GDP Grew to $19.25 Trillion Highest GDP In History. Thank you.

http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=98152
10/6/17

Wow! Look how much wealth has been created since President Trump's election

Since Donald Trump was made President $5.12 trillion in wealth has been made on the Stock Market!

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/man-created-facebook-like-button-now-warns-mind-can-hijacked-social-media/
Man Who Created The Facebook ‘Like’ Button Now Warns Your Mind Can Be ‘Hijacked’ Through Social Media
In 2007, Rosenstein was one of a small group of Facebook employees who decided to create a path of least resistance – a single click – to “send little bits of positivity” across the platform. Facebook’s “like” feature was, Rosenstein says, “wildly” successful: engagement soared as people enjoyed the short-term boost they got from giving or receiving social affirmation, while Facebook harvested valuable data about the preferences of users that could be sold to advertisers. The idea was soon copied by Twitter, with its heart-shaped “likes” (previously star-shaped “favourites”), Instagram, and countless other apps and websites.
10/6/17

Justin Rosenstein had tweaked his laptop’s operating system to block Reddit, banned himself from Snapchat, which he compares to heroin, and imposed limits on his use of Facebook. But even that wasn’t enough.

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Revelation 13:15 (KJV)

EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s very interesting to understand that the very people who created the highly-addictive ‘like’ system have now installed extensions on their devices to block those same features from being active. What does that tell you about how enslaving social media can be? Just imagine how it will be in a few years when AI is fully rolled out, and the devices are doing our thinking for us. The “brave new world’ is a very scary place to be, and I honestly don’t think any of us really know what we’re playing with.

In August, the 34-year-old tech executive took a more radical step to restrict his use of social media and other addictive technologies. Rosenstein purchased a new iPhone and instructed his assistant to set up a parental-control feature to prevent him from downloading any apps.

He was particularly aware of the allure of Facebook “likes”, which he describes as “bright dings of pseudo-pleasure” that can be as hollow as they are seductive. And Rosenstein should know: he was the Facebook engineer who created the “like” button in the first place.

A decade after he stayed up all night coding a prototype of what was then called an “awesome” button, Rosenstein belongs to a small but growing band of Silicon Valley heretics who complain about the rise of the so-called “attention economy”: an internet shaped around the demands of an advertising economy.

These refuseniks are rarely founders or chief executives, who have little incentive to deviate from the mantra that their companies are making the world a better place. Instead, they tend to have worked a rung or two down the corporate ladder: designers, engineers and product managers who, like Rosenstein, several years ago put in place the building blocks of a digital world from which they are now trying to disentangle themselves. “It is very common,” Rosenstein says, “for humans to develop things with the best of intentions and for them to have unintended, negative consequences.”

Rosenstein, who also helped create Gchat during a stint at Google, and now leads a San Francisco-based company that improves office productivity, appears most concerned about the psychological effects on people who, research shows, touch, swipe or tap their phone 2,617 times a day.

There is growing concern that as well as addicting users, technology is contributing toward so-called “continuous partial attention”, severely limiting people’s ability to focus, and possibly lowering IQ. One recent study showed that the mere presence of smartphones damages cognitive capacity – even when the device is turned off. “Everyone is distracted,” Rosenstein says. “All of the time.”
But those concerns are trivial compared with the devastating impact upon the political system that some of Rosenstein’s peers believe can be attributed to the rise of social media and the attention-based market that drives it.

Drawing a straight line between addiction to social media and political earthquakes like Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump, they contend that digital forces have completely upended the political system and, left unchecked, could even render democracy as we know it obsolete.

In 2007, Rosenstein was one of a small group of Facebook employees who decided to create a path of least resistance – a single click – to “send little bits of positivity” across the platform. Facebook’s “like” feature was, Rosenstein says, “wildly” successful: engagement soared as people enjoyed the short-term boost they got from giving or receiving social affirmation, while Facebook harvested valuable data about the preferences of users that could be sold to advertisers. The idea was soon copied by Twitter, with its heart-shaped “likes” (previously star-shaped “favourites”), Instagram, and countless other apps and websites.

It was Rosenstein’s colleague, Leah Pearlman, then a product manager at Facebook and on the team that created the Facebook “like”, who announced the feature in a 2009 blogpost. Now 35 and an illustrator, Pearlman confirmed via email that she, too, has grown disaffected with Facebook “likes” and other addictive feedback loops. She has installed a web browser plug-in to eradicate her Facebook news feed, and hired a social media manager to monitor her Facebook page so that she doesn’t have to.

“One reason I think it is particularly important for us to talk about this now is that we may be the last generation that can remember life before,” Rosenstein says. It may or may not be relevant that Rosenstein, Pearlman and most of the tech insiders questioning today’s attention economy are in their 30s, members of the last generation that can remember a world in which telephones were plugged into walls.

It is revealing that many of these younger technologists are weaning themselves off their own products, sending their children to elite Silicon Valley schools where iPhones, iPads and even laptops are banned. They appear to be abiding by a Biggie Smalls lyric from their own youth about the perils of dealing crack ****: never get high on your own supply.

One morning in April this year, designers, programmers and tech entrepreneurs from across the world gathered at a conference centre on the shore of the San Francisco Bay. They had each paid up to $1,700 to learn how to manipulate people into habitual use of their products, on a course curated by conference organiser Nir Eyal.

Eyal, 39, the author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, has spent several years consulting for the tech industry, teaching techniques he developed by closely studying how the Silicon Valley giants operate.

“The technologies we use have turned into compulsions, if not full-fledged addictions,” Eyal writes. “It’s the impulse to check a message notification. It’s the pull to visit YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter for just a few minutes, only to find yourself still tapping and scrolling an hour later.” None of this is an accident, he writes. It is all “just as their designers intended”.

He explains the subtle psychological tricks that can be used to make people develop habits, such as varying the rewards people receive to create “a craving”, or exploiting negative emotions that can act as “triggers”. “Feelings of boredom, loneliness, frustration, confusion and indecisiveness often instigate a slight pain or irritation and prompt an almost instantaneous and often mindless action to quell the negative sensation,” Eyal writes.
facebook-like-button-creator-says-highly-addictive-warns-social-media-banned

Less than 5 minutes after posting this story on social media, Facebook banned me for 6 days in retaliation for daring to expose them.

Attendees of the 2017 Habit Summit might have been surprised when Eyal walked on stage to announce that this year’s keynote speech was about “something a little different”. He wanted to address the growing concern that technological manipulation was somehow harmful or immoral. He told his audience that they should be careful not to abuse persuasive design, and wary of crossing a line into coercion.

But he was defensive of the techniques he teaches, and dismissive of those who compare tech addiction to drugs. “We’re not freebasing Facebook and injecting Instagram here,” he said. He flashed up a slide of a shelf filled with sugary baked goods. “Just as we shouldn’t blame the baker for making such delicious treats, we can’t blame tech makers for making their products so good we want to use them,” he said. “Of course that’s what tech companies will do. And frankly: do we want it any other way?”

Without irony, Eyal finished his talk with some personal tips for resisting the lure of technology. He told his audience he uses a Chrome extension, called DF YouTube, “which scrubs out a lot of those external triggers” he writes about in his book, and recommended an app called Pocket Points that “rewards you for staying off your phone when you need to focus”.

Finally, Eyal confided the lengths he goes to protect his own family. He has installed in his house an outlet timer connected to a router that cuts off access to the internet at a set time every day. “The idea is to remember that we are not powerless,” he said. “We are in control.”

But are we? If the people who built these technologies are taking such radical steps to wean themselves free, can the rest of us reasonably be expected to exercise our free will?

Not according to Tristan Harris, a 33-year-old former Google employee turned vocal critic of the tech industry. “All of us are jacked into this system,” he says. “All of our minds can be hijacked. Our choices are not as free as we think they are.” source

http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=98989
10/11/17

Just In: Supreme Court tosses it out! Trump wins!

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The Supreme Court threw out one of the cases against President Trump's travel ban.

washingtonexaminer.com reports: The Supreme Court dropped one of the cases challenging President Trump's travel ban on Tuesday.

The high court said Tuesday that Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project is moot, as the 90-day ban on foreign nationals entering the U.S. expired and has since been replaced by different guidance.

"Following our established practice in such cases, the judgment is therefore vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit with instructions to dismiss as moot the challenge to [the ban]," said the Supreme Court in an unsigned summary disposition.

When They Shall Say "Peace And Safety": Polls Show Americans Are The Most Optimistic They Have Been In A Very Long Time

By a very wide margin, this is the most optimistic that Americans have been about the future since I started The Economic Collapse Blog in late 2009.  Even though the middle class is shrinking, 102 million working age Americans do not have a job, and we are now 21 trillion dollars in debt, most people are feeling really good about things right now.  Especially among Republicans, there is an overwhelming consensus that the United States is starting to head in the right direction and that better times are ahead.  As a result, so many of the exact same people that were “prepping” while Barack Obama was in the White House are now partying now that Donald Trump is president.  But none of the long-term trends that are systematically destroying our nation have been significantly altered, and none of our long-term problems have been solved.  We are still steamrolling down a path toward national suicide, but most Americans simply do not care.

What Americans do care about is that it seems to be easier to find a job at the moment than it has in a very long time.  In fact, the percentage of Americans that believe that it is “a good time to find a quality job” is at the highest level that Gallup has ever recorded…

    Sixty-seven percent of Americans believe that now is a good time to find a quality job in the U.S., the highest percentage in 17 years of Gallup polling. Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percentage points since Donald Trump was elected president.

    Gallup has asked Americans to say whether it is a good time or bad time to find a quality job monthly since August 2001. Prior to 2017, the percentage saying “good time” never reached 50%, but since Trump took office in January that year, the percentage has stayed at or above 50% and has been higher than 60% in eight of the past nine months.

A Rasmussen survey that asked a similar question came up with very similar results.

Of course the reality of the matter is that 66 percent of all jobs in the United States pay less than 20 dollars an hour, and 78 million Americans are participating in the “gig economy” because they need to supplement their normal incomes in order to make ends meet.

But perception is sometimes more powerful than reality, and right now the perception is that the U.S. economy is doing well…

    “Nothing is better for the issues about trade wars or issues about G-7 than a good economy,” Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer for equities at Charles Schwab Investment Management, said by phone. “The jobs report on Friday gave a lot of people confidence that the U.S. economy is still pretty solid.”

Small businesses in the United States are also feeling extremely optimistic right now.

In fact, one survey found that small business optimism has surged to record highs…

    The Q2 MetLife & U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index (Index) released today recorded an overall score of 68.7, up 2.4 points from the Q1 score of 66.3, driven in part by the strongest local economic outlook on record, a firmer hiring environment, and a stronger backdrop for investing. Two out of every three small business owners are optimistic about their company and the small business environment in the United States.

That is definitely a good sign, because we desperately need small businesses to do well, but is all of this optimism really warranted?

The financial markets continue to be filled with optimism as well.  Despite the outbreak of an international trade war and tremendous turmoil over in Europe, the Nasdaq closed at a brand new record high on Tuesday.

In recent years stock prices have just continued to go up and up and up no matter what news breaks, and now we are facing the greatest stock market bubble in our history.

How long do we have until it finally bursts?

There is a lot of optimism in the housing market as well.  At this point, a staggering 64 percent of all adults in this country believe that housing prices will continue to go up over the next year.  The following comes from Marketwatch…

    A majority of U.S. adults (64%) continue to believe home prices in their local area will increase over the next year, a recent survey released by polling firm Gallup concluded. That’s up nine percentage points over the past two years and is the highest percentage since before the housing market crash and Great Recession in the mid-2000s.

    The level of optimism is edging closer to the 70% of adults in 2005 who said prices would continue rising. That, of course, was less than one year before the peak of the housing market bubble in early 2006, which was largely fueled by a wave of subprime lending.

Moving beyond short-term concerns, Americans are also becoming increasingly optimistic about the long-term future too.  A recent Gallup survey discovered that approximately 60 percent of all Americans believe that our young people “will have a better life than their parents did”…

    About six in 10 Americans say it is very or somewhat likely that today’s young people will have a better life than their parents did. The latest reading marks continued improvement since the low of 44% in 2011 but is still not back to the level of 66% measured in February 2008.

Hopefully the optimists will be correct, but I do not believe they will be.  If we keep doing the same things that we have been doing as a nation, it is simply not possible that there will be any sort of a bright future for America.

And I will tell you one area where Americans are quite pessimistic.  One recent survey found that 77 percent of all Americans believe that morality is in decline in this country.  Our national character continues to deteriorate at a frightening pace, and most Americans appear to be quite aware that this is happening.

But instead of changing our ways, we proudly believe that our “greatness” will allow us to continue to enjoy a massively inflated debt-fueled standard of living for a very long time to come.

Unfortunately for us, it simply does not work that way, and as a nation we are way overdue for a very serious wake up call.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/when-they-shall-say-peace-and-safety-polls-show-americans-are-the-most-optimistic-they-have-been-in-a-very-long-time

CNN Proposes Keeping Your ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ to Yourself


Many atheists and agnostics have a negative reaction to prayers said for them, CNN reported Monday, so Christians should probably keep them to themselves to avoid offending others.

Citing a recent study, CNN said that “some atheists and agnostics would pay money” to avoid having prayers sent their way after suffering a natural disaster such as a hurricane.

Sending thoughts and prayers in the wake of disasters is “controversial,” said Linda Thunström, an economist at the University of Wyoming who co-authored the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study, based on interaction with some 400 residents in North Carolina following Hurricane Florence’s destruction in 2018, said that atheists and agnostics are “prayer averse” — willing to pay to avoid receiving prayers — and are especially against receiving thoughts and prayers “from Christians.”

Nonreligious people “were willing to pay about $1.66 to avoid a prayer from a priest and more than double that price at $3.54 to avoid one from a Christian stranger,” CNN stated.

“The last result is surprising because one might expect that atheists/agnostics would be indifferent to people praying for them — why care, if you don’t believe in the gesture?” said Thunström.

“But that is not what we find — atheists and agnostics are averse to prayers,” she said, and are willing to pay money in order “not to get a prayer from a Christian stranger.”

“Hence, it is important to think about who the target person is when sending thoughts and prayers in the wake of hardship,” she said.

Along with the emotional aversion that atheists and agnostics may experience to prayers said for the, critics also argue “that these gestures are meaningless and can reduce material help or structural reforms aimed at mitigating natural and social disasters,” the study said.

Some have included the phrase “I’ll pray for you” in lists of micro-aggressions, suggesting that this expression can “communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative slights and insults toward people.”

One atheist said that being told “I’ll pray for you” with the claim it was a compliment “invokes the same feeling as equating sexually lewd comments with compliments.”

https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/09/17/cnn-proposes-you-keep-your-thoughts-and-prayers-to-yourself/

REV 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
ISA 2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.