Economy | Information and Trends by Prosperity Concierge

Debt and Unemployment Keeping Economy Growth Slow – Fisher

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said he sees economic growth picking up in the second half while remaining slow, and the Fed sustaining its record asset holdings for an “appropriate” period.
“It’s going to take quite some time to achieve a glide path that brings unemployment down significantly. It’s a slow recovery and

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Debt, Equity and QE2 – Bond Purchases May Have Helped

The quantitative easing that the Fed provided may have helped debt and equity markets.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the QE2 bond purchases gave a sagging economy a lift by slightly reducing borrowing costs for businesses and consumers and by raising stock prices to make people feel wealthier. Still, it didn’t much energize

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Debt Deleveraging is Why Households Continue to Struggle

Households may struggle for a while longer. One major reason: their household debt.
Many experts say private debt owed by households is an even bigger problem than the government debt that’s getting so much attention lately. And it won’t be solved without a difficult stretch of high unemployment and slow growth that will likely last for

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Household Debt Up?: Savings Rate Unchanged, Incomes Rise Little, Spending Up

Savings, income and spending figures hint at higher household debt.
Americans’ disposable incomes, or the money left over after taxes, rose 0.1 percent after adjusting for inflation, following no change in February, a reminder of the challenge represented by rising food and energy costs. The Commerce Department said today that the savings rate held at 5.5

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Global Investment, Productivity and Job Growth Ramping Up

First-quarter earnings from equities across the globe have beaten forecasts so far. A self-perpetuating cycle of wealth growth, productivity increases, and perhaps job growth, appears to be underway.
Since April 11, 71 percent of MCSI World Index members reporting results have topped analysts’ estimates for earnings per share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profits of

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Government Welfare: A Growth Industry Threatened by Government Debt Contraction

Lack of jobs, debt contraction across the economy and people lacking needed employable skills have all contributed to increased use of safety nets. Government welfare is being used by one in six Americans.
Just as private debt contraction by households and businesses is driving people to government safety nets, future debt contraction within the government promises

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The Job Search – the Hunt for a Good Job in the U.S.

The sharpest drop in unemployment in more than a quarter century obscures a simple fact: The jobs market still isn’t working for many Americans.
Some 6.3 million people have been out of work and looking for a job for more than six months. The employment-to-population ratio is lower than it was when the recession ended as

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Debt: Mortgage: Foreclosure Risk Remains High at 10%

The housing debt crisis continues as 10% of American households with a mortgage are at risk of foreclosure.
About 9.9 percent of homeowners had missed at least one mortgage payment as of June 30, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.
That number, which is adjusted for seasonal factors, was down slightly from a record-high of more than

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Investing Strategy in the New Normal: Equity, Global, Emerging Markets

Economists and market watchers are divided on the need for more government stimulus and the best way to handle a portfolio in a tepid market on a modest decline.
Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial, said disappointing economic data didn’t signal a double-dip recession, but a slowed pace of an already uninspiring recovery.
“Much of

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Interest Rates Unlikely to Rise For Years – Bill Gross

Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Bill Gross said the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates for two to three years as it seeks to keep the economy from slipping back into recession.
“When you analyze that portion of the curve, it says the Fed is on hold for a long, long time,” says Gross. “When

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