Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943 = From Depression to War

[mEDITate-OR:

These are stunning.

For those who think that "economists" are truly blind, to the world of reality, this first set of photos was listed on Catherine's NYTimes blog site.

Beautiful pictures from just before to during WW2.

So, see if YOU can see "the end of the Great Depression" and/or the beginning of The War.

These are MUCH larger photos that we - you, me and U.S. - usually get from newspapers on the web.

Enjoy!!

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Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943

Posted Jul 26, 2010

These images, by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America’s rural and small town populations. The photographs are the property of the Library of Congress and were included in a 2006 exhibit Bound for Glory: America in Color.

http://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.html

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Captured: New York City from Above

Posted Jul 13, 2010

A look at New York City from the air.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/07/13/captured-new-york-city-from-above/2331/

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More from Plog:

Captured: The Pacific and Adjacent Theaters in WWII

From the Archive: American Cities Pre-1950

Captured: Color Photography from Russia in the Early 1900�s

Captured: Seven Years in Afghanistan

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About The Plog

PLOG is a collection of photo blogs that tell the stories of the present and the past in photographs. 

Captured: The original Denver Post Photo Blog. The best of photography and photojournalism from across the globe.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/category/captured/
On War: The most compelling images from war and conflict around the world. Featuring photographers collections and their thoughts on war in words and pictures.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/category/on-war/
News: The biggest news stories around the globe in pictures.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/category/news/
In Focus: A weekly photo essay that covers the issues of the day.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/category/in-focus/
The Game: The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, the training, the dedication and the exhilaration of sport.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/category/the-game/
One Colorado Photo a Day: A photo a day that captures life in Colorado.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/category/colorado-photo-of-the-day/
From the Archive: Collections of photographs from the Denver Post Library and other great photo archives around the world.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/category/from-the-archive/

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New Jobless claims jump to 3-month high = Unemployment: Initial, Continued and Extended Claims August 05 2010

[mEDITate-OR:
not see the real humor in the toon.

While the RTT chart does not show U.S. much, what it does show is how the level of new jobless claims have not changed much at all for over 9 months.
You do see that that is pregnant with meaning(s) to U.S....

That last three charts are odd, in they show different lengths for the last months of the Bush admin.
But, the 3rd is the most interesting. What it shows U.S. in spades is that the problem began a full year before the end of W term in office, and exploded up as h/we got closer to the end.

And, that after 4 months of Obama in office the new claims started down.., until 9 months ago.

But, as we all know, in politics it is:   "What have you done for me lately?"
--------

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New Jobless claims jump to 3-month high
http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/05/news/economy/jobless_claims/index.htm
================
Unemployment: Initial, Continued and Extended Claims August 05 2010
http://www.favstocks.com/extended-unemployment-initial-continued-and-extended-unemployment-claims-august-05-2010/0522228/
==========

Help on small-biz loans not likely before September + Small biz jobs bill: FAIL

[mEDITate-OR:
think you understand why the US Chamber of Commerce opposes lending more to small business.
As one of the small town CoC members asked:  "Who do they represent? Certainly not U.S."

What most of U.S. do not understand is that IF it requires a US Senator to raise US$ 55,000 per day, and it now does, that the only place they can get that kind of money is from huge corporations, and very wealthy individuals.
The Little People don't have the money that's needed, and are no longer relevant.

What the list below shows U.S. is that SBA insured US$ 1.5 Billion in May.
And, while they still are insuring SBA loans, they cannot keep up with the demand.
---------
BA weekly 7(a) loan volume

Week ended:

May 7: $212,545,000

May 14: $277,375,000

May 21: $326,122,000

May 28: $732,010,000

June 4: $59,936,000

June 11: $101,319,000

June 18: $43,965,000

June 25: $138,746,000

July 2: $132,849,000

July 9: $87,619,000

July 16: $194,501,000

July 23: $109,800,000

July 31: $125,778,000

Note: Higher government guarantee and fee waivers on these loans ended June 1.

============
Help on small-biz loans not likely before September
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/08/02/daily67.html?surround=lfn
===========
Small biz jobs bill: FAIL
http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/06/smallbusiness/small_business_bill_stalemate/index.htm
=========

ADP = US private sector employment increased by 42,000 from June to July

[mEDITate-OR:
not understand how important ADP's employment numbers really are

Since ADP actually does the account work for their businesses
they KNOW what their customers are actually doing, or not.

And, what they are telling U.S. is that small & medium service businesses were hiring.
Everyone else was not.
--------------

Nonfarm Private Employment Highlights – July Report:

• Total employment: +42,000
• Small businesses* +21,000
• Medium businesses** +21,000
• Large businesses*** 0
• Goods-producing sector: -21,000
• Service-providing sector: +63,000

------------

===========
ADP = US private sector employment increased by 42,000 from June to July
http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1020300.shtml
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US economy adds private jobs but at lackluster pace
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/7711972/us-economy-adds-private-jobs-but-at-lackluster-pace/
============

TED = Access to employer-provided benefits among full- and part-time private industry workers + Job openings in May 2010

[mEDITate-OR:
think TED doesn't know anything you don't know.

TED is a daily chart produced by the BLS, Bureau of Labor Statistics...
that show U.S. the things They think we might like to see.
Oddly, most of the time they are right, not Far Right, merely accurate.

The 1st TED chart shows U.S. home much different we treat full VS part time employees.
The obvious problem is "health care".
Almost like WalMart putting their lowest paid employees on state subsidized health care programs.

The 2nd TED chart is a pictorial view of the changes in unemployment.
No chart, not graph, not table of numbers.

The 2rd & 4th charts are job hire vs loss charts.
While the 4th suggests that we had stopped loosing jobs, and that hires are way up...
that MIGHT be just the census part time hires.

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Access to employer-provided benefits among full- and part-time private industry workers
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2010/ted_20100806.htm
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Metropolitan area unemployment rates, June 2010
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2010/ted_20100802.htm
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Job openings in May 2010
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2010/ted_20100715.htm
==========

[mEDITate-OR:

get that deja vu sinking feeling, all over again.

Prior/below are The Charts.

These are The Stories that go with them.

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July jobs report: Economy still losing jobs

August 6, 2010: 11:12 AM ET

http://www.statesman.com/business/u-s-jobs-picture-still-hazy-july-report-845984.html

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Jobs Report Taxes Obama's Political Capital

August 6, 2010

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129034327&ft=1&f=1001&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

=============

August 6, 2010, 12:35 PM

State and Local Government Jobs Take a Beating

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/state-and-local-government-jobs-take-a-beating/?src=busln

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August 6, 2010, 10:34 AM

Comparing This Recession to Previous Ones: Job Changes

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/comparing-this-recession-to-previous-ones-job-changes-5/?src=busln

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Tracking U.S. Monthly Unemployment

August 6, 2010

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99136097

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What a truly amazing variety of graphs & charts...!!! for July's unemployment numbers

[mEDITate-OR:

get that deja vu sinking feeling, all over again.

What a truly amazing variety of graphs & charts...!!!

Each one is so very different, attempting to show U.S. an accurate, if different view of the numbers outed this morning.

Only the 3rd one by NYTimes Catherine Rampell extract the temporary census hiring skewed numbers.

{Jim @ CR does that which we will show you later, too}

While the 1st & 2nd do show U.S. Govt separate from private, they also combine all Govt. -- the 3rd does not.

The 4th also by Catherine does not, but does show U.S. how deep AND how long this one is.

The 5th show U.S. more closely the FULL extent by adding in marginally attached workers.

And below shows U.S. the SIZE of the labor force AND the employed & unemployed.

The 6th & 7th show U.S the two side of the similar coin - the % of U.S. who are employed and the % of U.S. who are NOT.

--------------     One - NPR

-------------    Two - CNN

----------------    Three - NYT

---------------   Four - NYT

--------------------   Five

---------   Six

-----------   Seven NPR

-------     Eight - NPR

-----------    AP services

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Q2: Office, Mall and Lodging Investment

[mEDITate-OR:
sit in your office, thinking about shopping at the mall, for your business vacation hotel trip
And, then remember how much has been lost, to the time price of money.
----------
This graph shows investment in offices as a percent of GDP.
Office investment as a percent of GDP peaked at 0.46% in Q3 2008 and has declined sharply to a new series low as a percent of GDP (data series starts in 1959).

Reis reported that the office vacancy rate is at a 17 year high at 17.4% in Q2, up from a revised 17.3% in Q1 and 16.0% in Q2 2009. With the office vacancy rate still rising, office investment will probably decline further - although most of the decline in investment has already happened
-----------
The second graph is for investment in malls.

Investment in multimerchandise shopping structures (malls) peaked in 2007 and has fallen by over two-thirds (note that investment includes remodels, so this will not fall to zero). Mall investment is also at a series low (as a percent of GDP) and will probably continue to decline through 2010. 
----------
The third graph is for lodging (hotels).

The bubble boom in lodging investment was stunning. Lodging investment peaked at 0.32% of GDP in Q2 2008 and has fallen by over 70% already. And I expect lodging investment to continue to decline through at least 2010.
As projects are completed there will be little new investment in these categories for some time. 
Also notice that investment in all three categories typically falls for a year or two after the end of a recession, and then usually recovers very slowly (flat as a percent of GDP for 2 or 3 years). Something similar will probably happen again, and there will not be a recovery in these categories until the vacancy rates fall significantly
=========
Q2: Office, Mall and Lodging Investment
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/08/q2-office-mall-and-lodging-investment.html
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Does Education Stop at Kindergarten?

[mEDITate-OR:
try to take your lack of  education to the bank...
----------

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Does Education Stop at Kindergarten?
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/does-education-stop-at-kindergarten/#more-76599
===========

Comparing Border Counties

[mEDITate-OR:

use them to make things for U.S., like they were Chinese...

and

use them to grow things for U.S., like vegetables, tequila, and maryjane

Import them to pick things up out of our ground for U.S. - to eat

But, NOT understand what "incentive" really means.

The Soviets did - they built the Berlin Wall.

---------

What is interesting is that the lowest HDI county on the US side (Starr County Texas)

is higher than the highest HDI municipality in Mexico (i.e., Mexicali).

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Comparing Border Counties
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/comparing-border-counties/
==========

Nevada job market plummets from first to worst

[mEDITate-OR:
wonder why it went so bad, so fast...
and/or
wonder why AZ isn't as bad as the other sand states...

Disirregardless, what was under construction is now underwater.
Out of work, underwater, in foreclosure and in bankruptcy.

Was this a great country, or what?
--------------

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Nevada job market plummets from first to worst
http://moremoney.blogs.money.cnn.com/2010/08/03/nevada-job-market-plummets-from-first-to-worst/
===========

Eurosclerosis Comes to America

[mEDITate-OR:

cogitate, and masticate, over this one..

or do both.

=======
JGBHimself   Mesa, Az   August 5th, 2010   9:52 am

Once again Casey is @ bat, and striking out.

Said he:  "It is no surprise that adopting a European safety net is giving us a European unemployment problem."

As the Church Lady told U.S.: "Well, isn't that special." Or, stupid.

Unemployment is a "temporary" program, providing "temporary" relief to those who are fired or let go, but not those who quit. That benefits both the individuals and their families, and the communities they were in and those they can still afford to move into. To transition into another, hopefully as good as or better, job.

We see - tho possible even here Casey would strike out, no pun intended, and does not see - that providing an "investment tax credit" for businesses to transition themselves is wise tax, economic & legal policy.

We see - tho possible even here AGAIN Casey would strike out, no pun intended, and does not see - that providing an "oil depletion allowance" for Big Oil Companies - like Casey's BP friends, drilling for deep sea oil - to transition themselves arguably might be wise tax, economic & legal policy.

God forbid that we would do as Jesus would do - unto others as we would like them to do unto U.S.

Oh, and Casey, do YOU have tenure? And, yes, that was a joke.

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JGBHimself   Mesa, Az  August 5th, 2010  9:52 am

And as if striking out once, when he loaded up his own bases, was not bad enough, said Prof Casey:

"the mortgage modification programs, begun by the Bush administration and tweaked by the Obama administration, offer mortgage forgiveness to borrowers with low incomes while offering nothing to those with high incomes."

MOG, Casey, is THAT not pregnant with meaning(s)...!!!

Do you, really, mean to tell U.S the the failure of BUSH's "mtg mod program" was ALL and only HIS fault, and not Barak's? Can we have a Tea Party to celebrate THAT wee, skoshi bit of wisdom?

Oh, and Prof, try selling THAT line of BS to the underwater, low income, prime and ARM loan-ees, who are now in foreclosure and bankruptcy, in the sand states of Cal, Nev, Fla & AZ !!!

The Good News is that now we know why - in the Koran's & Old Testament Biblical sense - Pigs, and the dah Chicago Bears, mcCain't fly.

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==========

Eurosclerosis Comes to America
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/eurosclerosis-comes-to-america/
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Pending home sales sank 2.6 percent in June + Consumer spending stalls, threatens recovery = American consumers embrace the new abnormal

[mEDITate-OR:

spend the next decade trying to find out what went wrong....

While we probably ARE in an interregnum - between two recessions...

oh, we know, every body want it 2 B between one recessions and one (1) recovery...

but, these three article, particularly the third, tell U.S. a very different story.

Different reads, but important. Explanations of religious events in the Church of What's Happen'n Now!!

Or, Keep The Faith Alive.

{or something like that}

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Pending home sales sank 2.6 percent in June

Weak economy and tight lending standards kept home buyers away

The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase U.S. homes dropped in June, as the weak economy and tight lending standards kept consumers away from the housing market.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38537351/ns/business-real_estate

========

Consumer spending stalls, threatens recovery

Factory orders drop, home sales show more signs of slowing

Consumers did not boost their spending in June and their incomes failed to increase, offering further evidence that the economic recovery slowed in the second quarter.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38535803/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy

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US pending home sales fell in June

http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1020289.shtml

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American consumers embrace the new abnormal

They're worried about their finances but still buying $3 lattes and iPhones

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38491769/ns/business-bloomberg_businessweek/

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Private Construction Spending declines in June = Q2 2010: Homeownership Rate Lowest Since 1999

[mEDITate-OR:

shrink back into the hole you dug, for your economic foundation...

While it tis too easy to be pessimistic...

tis very difficult to BE a pessimist.

We - you, me and U.S. - want, badly the news to be good.

Butt, and this is no joke, it is not good.

For obvious political reasons, the Senate will NOT do what we need to do and have done for U.S.

We cannot cut taxes more, without increasing the deficit.

We cannot even leave W's cuts in place, without increasing the deficit.

IF we continue to cut local, state & Federal jobs, the economy will simply get worse.

What we DO need is a larger, more targeted "jobs program".

And, finally, to do as China is doing to U.S.

- actually HAVE a national "industrial policy".

Aimed @ the creation of skilled, technical jobs.

We are, literally, being thrown out of

our jobs AND our homes.

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Overall construction spending increased slightly in June, and private construction spending, both residential and non-residential, decreased in June.

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The homeownership rate declined to 66.9%. This is the lowest level since 1999. 
Note: graph starts at 60% to better show the change.

-----------
The homeowner vacancy rate declined to 2.5% in Q2 2010.

A normal rate for recent years appears to be about 1.7%
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The rental vacancy rate was steady at 10.6% in Q2 2010.
It's hard to define a "normal" rental vacancy rate based on the historical series, but we can probably expect the rate to trend back towards 8%. According to the Census Bureau there are close to 41 million rental units in the U.S. If the rental vacancy rate declined from 10.6% to 8%, then 2.6% X 41 million units or 1.07 million excess units would have to be absorbed.
This suggests there are still about 1.6 million excess housing units. These excess units will keep pressure on housing starts, rents and house prices for some time.
========
Private Construction Spending declines in June
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/08/private-construction-spending-declines.html
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Q2 2010: Homeownership Rate Lowest Since 1999
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/07/q2-2010-homeownership-rate-lowest-since.html
========

Revisions: Real GDP and PCE well below previous peak = Q2: real annualized GDP growth slows to 2.4%

[mEDITate-OR:

learn how bad it was...

and how much worse that "They" were telling U.S.

Welcome to "Revisionist history" week.

Not only are the jobless numbers being revised...

not only are the housing numbers being revised...

but, and this is NO joke, here are the new, improved GDP numbers.

What is interesting is that while they are "revised"

they are now telling U.S. that the latest numbers are also "skewed"

The "housing" component is totally out of whack, for a couple more months.

My guess = then the price of oil will ruin everything.

As SNL pointed out to U.S.:

      If its not one thing..., its another.

What WAS already ugly, is now even uglier.

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A few key numbers:
"Real personal consumption expenditures increased 1.6 percent in the second quarter, compared with an increase of 1.9 percent in the first."
PCE is slowing.
Investment: Nonresidential structures increased 5.2 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 17.8 percent. Equipment and software increased 21.9 percent, compared with an increase of 20.4 percent. Real residential fixed investment increased 27.9 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 12.3 percent.
Residential investment was boosted by the tax credit and will decline in Q3.
"The change in real private inventories added 1.05 percentage points to the second-quarter changein real GDP after adding 2.64 percentage points to the first-quarter change."
That is probably the end of the inventory adjustment.
===========
Revisions: Real GDP and PCE well below previous peak
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/07/revisions-real-gdp-and-pce-far-away.html
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Q2: real annualized GDP growth slows to 2.4%
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/07/q2-real-annualized-gdp-growth-slows-to.html
========

Pending Home fall to record series low in June + Personal Income, Spending flat in June

[mEDITate-OR:

think that some body is taking a dive...

into a very shallow pool of home buyers...

and that's not out there on Wall Street....

where IS The Answer to [y]our prayers...???

----------

While we really DO "Love our CR charts"

the explanations of "Why:" that Jim provides U.S.

and his "connections" to other thoughtful people

is almost worth more.

We really DO encourage you to read the CR articles

to go the the web site & then SEE all of those LARGE charts!!

and

to sign up for his DAILY newsletter.

You, too, will be very glad you did.

--------------

Said Jim @ CR:

A few key points:
1) The Pending Home sales index leads existing home sales by about 45 days.
2) The peaks in the Pending Home sales index are related to the home buyer tax credit. For the 2nd tax credit, the peak for the pending index was much higher than the existing home sales spike. One reason is that short sales sometimes take longer to close - and since the tax credit closing date was extended, these sales will close later. But probably the more important reasons are: a) appraisals are coming in below the agreed upon price, because the asking prices for similar homes have fallen since the end of April, and b) some buyers put in offers on two homes to beat the tax credit deadline, and then decided which house to buy.
3) It is hard to tell from the Pending Home sales index how far existing home sales will fall in July and August. However, with the Pending home sales index below the lows of early 2009, a first guess might be 4.5 million or so. (Existing home sales in Jan 2009 were 4.49 million SAAR).
4) With July inventory of about 4 million units and sales of 4.5 million units (SAAR), the months-of-supply will be just under 11 months and that will put downward pressure on prices.

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Pending Home fall to record series low in June

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/08/pending-and-existing-home-sales.html

and

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/08/pending-home-fall-to-record-series-low.html

=========

Personal Income, Spending flat in June
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/08/personal-income-spending-flat-in-june.html
========