Defending the Truth

NEW YORK - Wall Street closed Monday narrowly mixed, as investors tried to assess the health of the economy following a lackluster sales report from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and news of weak consumer spending last month.

Wal-Mart’s disappointing sales added to concerns that arose Friday with the report that the country’s economy, as measured by gross domestic product, was estimated to have risen a lower-than-expected 1.6 percent in the third quarter. That sent stocks sliding at the end of a week in which the Dow Jones industrial average had set new closing records for four straight sessions.

Building on investors’ economic concerns, the Commerce Department reported that consumer spending rose an anemic 0.1 percent in September, the smallest increase in 10 months. Personal income, however, was up 0.5 percent. Hopes for a strong holiday season have driven up shares of retailers and stocks overall in recent months.
“Personal spending was less than expected but then personal income was better than expected,” said Stuart Freeman, chief equity strategist for A.G. Edwards & Sons. He contends investors will grapple with sometimes negative and seemingly contradictory economic data as they try to determine whether the economy will pull off a soft landing after the Federal Reserve’s 17 straight interest rate increases that ended in July.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed the day down 4 points, or 0.03 percent, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index added a fraction of a point, or 0.04 percent, and Nasdaq composite index gained 13 points, or 0.6 percent.

Light, sweet crude tumbled in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange amid renewed doubts about whether OPEC would push through production cuts. Oil prices showed gains last week, and at times pushed down stock prices, after traders grew more confident that production cuts would take hold.

Bonds were little changed, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note flat at 4.68 percent from late Friday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Economic worries weigh on Wall Street - Stocks & Economy - MSNBC.com

So Wall Street has been over 12,000 - for the first time in history.

But you'll take a glitch on one day - Monday, October 30th - a day in which Wall Street didn't "BOOM", and try to spin it as though this is the beginning of the collapse.

So... how many YEARS are you going to keep saying, "This is the beginning of the end!" before it actually happens? I mean, if you live long enough, and say it often enough, you might eventually be right!

Narrator: Chicken Little was in the woods one day when an acorn fell on her head. It scared her so much she trembled all over. She shook so hard, half her feathers fell out.

Chicken Little: "Help! Help! The sky is falling! I have to go tell the king!"

Narrator: So she ran in great fright to tell the king. Along the way she met Henny Penny.

Henny Penny: "Where are you going, Chicken Little?"

Chicken Little: "Oh, help! The sky is falling!"

Henny Penny: "How do you know?"

Chicken Little: "I saw it with my own eyes, and heard it with my own ears, and part of it fell on my head!"

Henny Penny: "This is terrible, just terrible! We'd better hurry up."

Narrator: So they both ran away as fast as they could. Soon they met Ducky Lucky.

Ducky Lucky: "Where are you going, Chicken Little and Henny Penny?"

Chicken Little & Henny Penny: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling! We're going to tell the king!"

Ducky Lucky: "How do you know?"

Chicken Little: "I saw it with my own eyes, and heard it with my own ears, and part of it fell on my head."

etc, etc, etc.

What more can you expect from the media. They have to find something to report, so of course, the headlines are about Mix Reviews. Consumer spending rose 0.1, yet it still rose, coupled with the increase of 0.5 of income all numbers are up. There was no decline, only a slight increase. Sometimes the pie doesn't grow as quickly. Not to mention the fact that many people are trying to save a little money for the holidays, I seem to recall October always being a bit of a slow month.


dmk

There are other indicators, that have been pointed out, but you Republican ecomony backers refuse to take them into account.

Census Shows Rise in Nation's Poorest
by Elaine Korry

All Things Considered, August 29, 2006 · Despite comparative stability in the national poverty level, one number that rose in recently released Census Bureau data was the amount of people living in extreme poverty.

Federal guidelines list people in extreme poverty if their incomes fall at or below 50 percent of the poverty level. An additional 300,000 people slipped into what the Census Bureau calls "severe poverty."

NPR : Census Shows Rise in Nation's Poorest

Actually, I am fully aware of them - and what they indicate.

I'm fully aware of the fact that it's a flat housing market right now - due to the fact that my family recently moved to a different state, and we haven't sold our old house yet. Nevermind though, you know more about everything, including the economy...

But - unlike you - I do NOT play cry-baby "Chicken Little" just because I don't like a President.

I didn't NOT spend 8 years running around screaming about how the economy was going to hell in a handbasket during the Clinton years - even though it was.