October 07, 2007

The view from the UK: We went to war based on bad intelligence, now the US cut interest rates based on bad jobs data. Can't say I disagree...


The credibility of the United States of America continues to plummet.

When, oh when, will we no longer be run by corrupt and incompetent monkeys, justifying decisions on suspect or sexed-up data?

The big question now is will Bernanke and the US Fed fix their bad-data mistake (and raise rates at the end of the month), or will they be like Bush, who insists on compounding his bad-intelligence f*ck-ups?

UK Telegraph: Fed based rate cut on false jobs data

The 12 members of the Federal Reserve may be rethinking their 0.5pc interest rate cut last month after key jobs data that their decision was partly based on was revised.

August's non-farm payroll numbers were changed by the US Labor Department to show 89,000 jobs were created, rather than 4,000 lost as it first predicted.

The predicted fall, the first decline in four years, forced global markets sharply lower and was seen as one of the major reasons why the Fed, led by chairman Ben Bernanke, cut rates, in order to stimulate economic growth.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

OOPSIE DAISEY!!!
Ben, Ben, can you get a clue before you flush what's left of our country and currency straight down the LOO??

Anonymous said...

What happened to all iraq's nukes anyway?

The jobs data is a joke.Gubernment is clueless about what has been going on.As long as money is rolling in nothing matters.Look at all those trailers fema bought for katrina victims.More billions pissed away.Fire up the printing press again.

Anonymous said...

No way in hell Bernanke and all of the other crooked central bankers take back that cut. The cuts had nothing to do with jobs. They would not have taken the discount window rate down a 1/2 point if it was just about jobs. They are trying to prevent bank failures here in the United States. Think about all the wacky proposals that have been made in these last few weeks as a way of bailing out lenders, oops I mean home ownwers. If things weren't that bad would we even hear about any of this nonsense? They know what is about to hit. I still think that there are going to be several hedge funds that blow up before the end of this year. I would not be surprised to see Paulson and the PPT step in and shut down the stock market once all this stuff really starts to snow ball. I think the only thing they are trying to prevent at this point is a collapse of the banking system. They are trying to let the dollar collapse slowly. Imagine what would happen to the dollar if we had runs on the bank here in the United States. That would lead to a run on the dollar around the world. Their last move was so obvious that they are just gonna infate inflate inflate through this problem. What Congress should really do is go after all the crooked characters on Wall Street that are the root cause of this mess, instead of flipping the bill to the American taxpayer with inflation. These co*ksuckers probably have enough money to help weather the storm. In the words of Churchill "Men will do the right thing once all other options have been exhausted."Got gold?

Anonymous said...

*
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Oh, Keefer.. doesnt the grass seem greener on the other side of the pond?

Thank you soo very much for sharing some insight from the high and shiny foreheads in Britain.
After all, American self-esteem is totally dependant on the acceptance and respect of the fish and chips munchers.. NOT!

Anonymous said...

Dear Keith,
While inhaling the same air as the enlightened subjects of her highness the Queen.
Please send a message from us fat Pizza and Burger Fed victims.
Message = there is distinction between a Holiday and Vacation, A day spent in the sun yanking my wedgy in one hand and a 4th glass of Rum and Coke in the other, can hardly be call a Holy-day.

Gee, do we need to teach them everything?

Anonymous said...

Seems the Euro experiment has run its course, and so much for a strong pound.
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http://tinyurl.com/32cv89

Paige Turner said...

RE: ...will Bernanke and the US Fed fix their bad-data mistake (and raise rates at the end of the month)?...

No, that wouldn't enrich Wall Street or the big bankers. The idea is to make the peasants suffer.

Lowering rates (or doing nothing at all) will be the logical choice for temporarily slowing the housing bubble collapse and keeping the stock market sucker rally booming.

Lowering rates will have the added benefit of further reducing the worldwide value of the dollar. Dollar dumping will become the new fad with international investors.

When faced with having to make bad decisions, the administration will always make the worst possible choices.

V.L.

Dino said...

Yeah you are right. Nobody in the country has a job. Real unemmployment is 10% just like real inflation is 10%.

Yet everyone on HP is making $500K a year and throwing $1000s away to Ron Paul who has about as much chance of winning a primary as my dog.

Make up your minds people. Either we are in a recession/depression or we're not. Or is it that you morons spend too much time on extremist blogs and not enough time in the real world? I think we have a winner.

ApleAnee said...

Anonymous said...

No way in hell Bernanke and all of the other crooked central bankers take back that cut. The cuts had nothing to do with jobs.

Actually I think they used the bogus job data to justify the rate cut and prevent the screaming of moral hazard. I think they deliberately put out the -4,000, knowing they would release a correction later. I also think they will now deny another rate cut because it will send the dollar somewhere below the worms.

AA

Anonymous said...

Yes, I am vexed at how the jobs report could be off soo much!!

Dropping rates just to save wall street would be politically incorrect.

But dropping it to save main street w/ an ancillary benefit to wall street would be politically correct.

So just have DOC cook the books w/ a low ball #, point to that to justify the cut & you can't help it that all your buddies on wall street got some breathing room for their big screw up.

gregoryw said...

The jobs report and all those reports come with the asterix. They say +-12%. That means maybe we're up huge, or maybe we're down huge. In other words, it never has to be anywhere close to correct. And one in the real world even cares. Traders just make trades on the same data everyone else has. They bet if the report is going to go up or down and nobody cares if it's bogus.

Anonymous said...

The revised job numbers were pulled from the administrative's box of tricks to further manipulate the ignorant masses.

Smoke and mirrors, people. Smoke and mirrors.

Anonymous said...

I smell hypocrisy. Everybody seems so upset about the rate cut. Yet two of HP's favorites, Robert Shiller and Stephen Roach called for rate cuts in the video posted here the other day.

Man there are some frikkin big egos here!

Anonymous said...

We went to war based on bad intelligence...

Keith, the spin doctor. We were lied into an oil grab, they cooked up the "intelligence" to make it say what "they" wanted it to say.

Bush and Cheney belong in a prison camp, awaiting execution. The whole damned country is corrupt, and I think it's funny.

Anonymous said...

I hope the economy is ok as long as anyone and anything REIC related is destroyed.

ApleAnee said...

westwest888 said...

In other words, it never has to be anywhere close to correct. And one in the real world even cares. Traders just make trades on the same data everyone else has. They bet if the report is going to go up or down and nobody cares if it's bogus.

Yup, and it went down 4,000 in August when everyone was betting on up (as in 89,000). Did you make a lot of money in September on your August up/down nobody cares if its bogus trading strategy?

You are right about one thing. None of the Euro traders cares at about the U.S. any longer. They don't believe a word we say or do. They are looking forward to using the dollar for carry trades.

Anonymous said...

Let's say it together, kids:

"sabotage".

Anonymous said...

sure got that Dow 30 flying again! don't forget the "bin Laden puts" that were averted!!

Anonymous said...

This administration will go down in infamy as the home of the whoppers. They left no lie untold!

Anonymous said...

You are missing the point...Don't you think "Revision" Of "Governemnt Jobs" was done on purpose? Seems like they needed to show a reason for rate cut and they did! Now, we just conviniently forget the rate for rate cuts was Jobs...