Waking Up From the American Dream

Economic Stimulus Package

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Business Orders Down - But Better Than Last Month
For the second month in a row, the critical economic indicator - manufacturers' orders for Durable Goods - was trending better. Business orders for things like computer equipment, industrial machinery and airplanes were only 21% worse than the prior year in October, according to the Census Bureau. This is better than Septembe

Economy Grew 2.8%, Not 3.5%
The economy only grew 2.8% in the third quarter this year, down from the 3.5% estimate in the Q3 GDP report released a month ago. More data came in over the last month, which showed that commercial real estate and personal spending wasn't as strong as initially estimated. For a history of all GDP reports since

Why Is Black Friday Important (and Where Are the Sales?)
This year, Black Friday is especially important. It will signal whether the recession will continue to hurt retailers, since 18% of retail sales occur from Black Friday through Christmas. This year, the National Retail Federation is projecting a 1% decline, which is up a bit from last year's drop of 3.4%. Read more...

Where Are Toxic Assets Now?
A reader recently asked "What happened to the $1 -2 trillion in "toxic assets" that caused the Great Recession?" Toxic assets are primarily foreclosed mortgages that are sitting on banks' balance sheets, waiting to be written off as losses.This is a great question, as these assets are the debris clogging up the bank lending pipeline. Last year the Federal Reserve started the TALF (Toxic Asset

Eat at Home
In October, grocery bills were down 2.8% from last year, while restaurant prices went up 2.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). September and October were the first times in 40 years that food prices benefited from deflation. Overall, the Consumer Price Index (