14 replies to this topic

[Sakura Blossoms]

Thank God D:

[Derock]

See? It takes patience and teamwork and our economy will be good once more.

[Paradox Jast]

Hopefully just the news that there is an end and a turn-around in sight will make things improve that much faster.

[Yakatsu]

Is it wrong of me , that I don't believe that this new recession isn't going to just die off in 2010?

" A group of financial wizards looked into their crystal ball Tuesday and saw some good news. "

Yeah , you've gained my trust with that one Merlin.

[KungFuTruffle]

"Financial Wizards" mean nothing. Things won't truly get better unless we all try to make them better. There isn't a magic "Fix" button that will make this all better. It's going to be a long while before we get out of all these holes we've dug. And that's going to be a long time coming, because, well...

To quote the great Wiggum: "Dig UP, stupid!" seems to have been the major motto for the past decade.

[Pite]

In my opinion it ain't over yet. Only if all countries were to roll out super packages we can hope for some increase in global demand and that's where they should start. THe G20 meeting is coming up so lets cross our fingers shall we?

[Cloud]

Hope we're not getting trolled. D:

[Sakura Blossoms]

WASHINGTON – Evidence is piling up that the worst part of the recession has ended. But that doesn't mean the pain is over.

A better-than-expected unemployment report Friday — job losses declined to the lowest level in six months — capped a week of encouraging news, including firmer home sales, a revival in consumer spending and fresh optimism about the biggest U.S. banks.

The economy remains vulnerable to further shocks, and 13.7 million people are unemployed. The jobless rate rose to 8.9 percent in the new report and still seems headed for a stinging 10 percent.

Yet confidence is building that the recession, the longest since the Great Depression, will end this summer or fall, setting the stage for a slow recovery.

Pointing to recent improvements, President Barack Obama said Friday "the gears of our economic engine do seem to be slowly turning once again."

By some measures, the darkest months have passed. The plunges in economic activity and rising waves of layoffs, seen from the end of 2008 through the start of this year, seem to have subsided.

"The winds are still howling, but I think we can see the sunlight on the distant horizon," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "Clearly, the job losses are moderating."

The economy probably is still shrinking in the current quarter but only at about half the pace — around 3 percent — that it had in the prior six months, the worst in 50 years. Businesses are expected to be cutting back far less on things like home building, commercial construction, equipment and software. And factories could then boost production to replenish razor-thin stockpiles of goods.

Many believe the economy could start growing again by summer or, more likely, by the final quarter of this year, as the impact of tax cuts and increased government spending on big public works projects contained in Obama's $787 billion stimulus package takes hold.

A burst of hiring by the federal government to prepare for the 2010 Census played a big role in the April improvement. Smaller payrolls cuts at construction companies, factories, retailers and financial services also factored in.

Still, a string of reports out this week suggested the recession is finally starting to lose its bite and the economy is stabilizing.

• The number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for jobless benefits plunged to the lowest level in 14 weeks.

• Sales at many retailers fared better in April, with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. leading the way.

• Construction spending rose in March, the first increase after five straight months of declines. An index of pending home sales also ticked up.

• The U.S. services sector contracted in April at a slower pace than the prior month.

• Government exams of the nation's biggest banks helped lift a cloud of uncertainty that has hung over the economy.

Those "stress test" results — a key administration effort to boost confidence in the financial system — showed nine of the 19 biggest banks have enough capital to withstand a deeper recession. Ten must raise a total of $75 billion in new capital to withstand possible future losses.

Taken altogether, the recent news provides "very clear signs that we are making progress toward reaching a bottom, which is the first step you need to accomplish before you can achieve a turnaround," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "A recovery is now in sight."

[Cloud]

Finally. If this s*itstorm clears up sometime soon, I might have a career when I graduate... DX

[Sakura Blossoms]

Finally. If this s*itstorm clears up sometime soon, I might have a career when I graduate... DX

Indeed DX

[Cloud]

Indeed DX

Ugh. Know what's annoying, Shauna?

That internship job for my program, the people that were eligible for it got shafted. The employer never called them back. The economy just scares some companies into NOT hiring.

[RyrineaHaruno]

I am glad were making a improvement. I was just getting on my nervous a bit about everything.

[jim1982]

Well I know my company is on a basic "freeze" until the end of the year. No hiring, 10% pay cut for salaried employees, 20% pay cut for hourerly employees.

But I work in the machine tool trade, so we were hit by the recession later than most companies, and will suffer longer than most. It is nice to know that the are looking at it ending in 2009, meaning bussines for my company should fully pick up but 3rd quarter 2010.

[Codus N]

Well, for one thing.. when this is all over I sure hope Obama can do something about those Giant corporates & make them pay big time & I also hope he can focus on other stuff like mending relationships with Muslims etc...