PPI held hostage - day 7. WH is scared.

[junker]

From The King Report:

PPI Held Hostage, Day 7.

Last week, a largely ignored but extremely revealing and disgusting announcement emanated from the White House. Bush’s chief economic adviser, Greg Mankiw, under fire about manufacturing job losses, called the definition of manufacturing jobs "somewhat blurry". He then proffered the absurd and contemptible notion that McDonald’s jobs could be considered manufacturing jobs because McDonald’s is a product, not a service. Sen. Charlie Schumer (D-NY) retorted, "If fast food is classified as manufacturing, perhaps the neighborhood lemonade stand should be considered part of the military-industrial complex." Mankiw’s bizarre attempt to defraud the public and insult their intelligence stridently illustrates two points. The WH is so scared and desperate that it will try to sell gross delusions to the US public. Secondly, if the WH would lie and intellectually assault the American public to their faces on an obvious economic issue, you can image what they are doing as they construct economic statistics in private. And that sheds much sanitizing sunlight on the PPI delay. http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzmac0221,0,7767423.story?coll=ny-business-headlines

-END-

snatched from lemetropolecafe.com

[TacticalPeek]

1. PPI AWOL? WTF!?

:wow:

[Hotler]

2. Sad, sad, sad.....

n/t

[rapier]

3. A stinky one

This is a stinky one for sure. I'm talking about the delay in the release of the PPI, the Producer Price Index, an important measure of inflation. I guess Junkers link doesn't really mention that and that is the big deal here, not the Administration flacks comments on jobs.

Truth be told there is a germ of truth in that view about exporting jobs being a good thing. I don't buy it in the most general sense but few realize how this exporting jobs has done wonders for corporate 'earnings' and productivity. You see we make more selling the stuff China makes than they do in making it. (I'll link an article about this if I can find it)

But on the missing PPI

If inflation breaks out, and then bonds break down, I think the troubles will really start.
-----------------

I inadvertently started a new thread on this, 'Yes we have no inflation'. Sorry.

I linked to one of my fav sites, Capital Stool, to an article by the good Doctor on this issue. Someone came on and pointed out the site does have advertising spyware. Something I fix automaticly with AdAware and sort of just ignore. So be warned.

The site is not a political one, in any normal sense of the word. Bearish market sites are notoriously of the right but this one is not. I can state with certainty that Doctor Stool is not a righty and that is what makes the site so good. Even if lots of members tend to be, as I said bears are often dittoheads, or worse. For the most part the crude rightist stuff is absent.

This article, playing on the O'Rileiy Factor, The Stool Factor in no way means he likes the FOX jerk.

PPI, You can't handle the truth
http://www.capitalstool.com/stoolfactor.htm
A must read.

[twilight]

4. lots of inflation alright

I've noticed it all around me in many different ways and it is not a small amount - quite large if you ask me. Many things are up 20-25% in price.

I think I will hang-on to the I bonds I bought back in 2001 and again in 2002. They might be a better deferred-tax investment than I had ever imagined.

Oddly enough, you can no longer buy Series I bonds on-line with a credit card. It seems the Treasury is going out of its way to discourage people from buying them.

and ... Series I bonds were invented by Bill Clinton, but now you must hold them for a full year before you can cash them which was not the case until April of 2003. :wtf:

Questions, no answers, plenty of theories about all of this.

However, I do believe that inflation is rampant - just paid $2.25 a gallon for gasoline today. Up $.25 in one week!

:dem: :kick:

[bemildred]

5. Full service Chevron at $2.75, what else do you need?

Saw it today.