Video- Limbaugh on market "free fall" due to Greek riots: Declares it "Obama's market"

There is nothing they won't try and blame the President for. Via Media Matters. Added- Looky here: Trading error blamed for market plunge: CNBC

Raw Video: Greek Police Clash With Protesters

Scary stuff- the protests and how the stock market reacted-

Stocks extend plunge on concerns about Greece

Video- Biden’s job prediction on Jon Stewart show back in November comes true

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Joe Biden Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
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And no, he didn't have it in his pocket because of the Census jobs- they were only 48k out of 162k jobs created. Relevant bit is around 2:50.

Vice President Joe Biden predicted the economy would be creating jobs by February or March of 2010 in an appearance on “The Daily Show.”

It looked like a risky bet when Biden told Jon Stewart on Nov. 17, 2009, that the economy would be adding jobs by February or March.

“We had 740,000 jobs lost the month we took office...it continues to go down,” Biden told Stewart. “We'll be creating jobs by February or March of next year.”

On Friday, that call proved correct when the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the economy added 165,000 jobs in March.

(snip)

When Biden made the comment, the economy had just lost more than 200,000 jobs in November, and it hadn’t had a positive month in nearly two years. The economy lost at least 200,000 jobs per month from July 2008 to October 2009.

Video- The President Proposes Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee

House Democrats eye 'cramdown' measure for regulatory reform bill

So. Very. Important. This is the current law that allows judges to adjust second homes mortgages (hmm, now who the hell can afford a second home?) but not first (and only homes) where all the pain is centered.

House Democrats this week are expected to add to wide-ranging financial overhaul legislation a controversial amendment allowing bankruptcy judges to alter home mortgages.

The House already passed a bankruptcy measure this year, but the effort died in the Senate, with backers falling 15 votes shy. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) was unable to round up enough Democrat votes behind the effort.

(snip)

The provision is derided as “cramdown” by the financial industry and the Republicans who oppose the effort. The measure would empower bankruptcy judges to rewrite loan terms and lower rates on primary home mortgages. Supporters say it is necessary to force mortgage lenders and servicers to modify loans as the housing market continues to show weakness.

Consumer advocacy groups have argued all year that banks and mortgage servicers are not doing enough to alter home loans in ways that would avoid foreclosures.

Jobless claims slide to near 15-month low

At this point I have no clue if this is good or bad.

New York (CNNMoney.com) – The number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance fell last week to a nearly 15-month low, according to a government report released Wednesday.

There were 457,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Nov. 28, down 5,000 from a revised 462,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said.

That's the lowest level since the week ended Sept. 6, 2008. The week being reported included the Thanksgiving holiday.

Obama announces 'jobs forum'

Ya know, I'm usually not the most critical gal of President Obama, but stop "announcing" shit and just get doing it m'kay?

Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he will host a White House 'jobs forum' in December.

"Millions of Americans... are desperately searching for jobs," the president said in brief remarks at the White House, before leaving for an 8-day trip to Asia. The government has "an obligation to consider" every possible idea to generate new job growth, he said.

The forum will include representatives from business, organized labor, and academia, among other sectors, Obama added.

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Bonus Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

New jobless claims drop unexpectedly to 545K

Slow but still going down.

WASHINGTON – The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since early July, evidence that job cuts are slowing.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to a seasonally adjusted 545,000 from an upwardly revised 557,000 the previous week. Wall Street economists expected claims to rise by 5,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

The decline was the third in the past four weeks. The four-week average, which smooths out fluctuations, dropped 8,750 to 563,000. Despite the improvement, that's far above the 325,000 per week that is typical in a healthy economy.

"The message here is that the labor market's healing process is agonizingly slow," Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at MFR Inc., wrote in a note to clients.

Complete Video- President Obama's speech on the Anniversary of Lehman's Fall

I liked this speech very much, he sounded very stern.

Video- Crime down despite economy

Poll: Bush Still Owns The Economy

Greg parses Rasmussen(!) so we don't have to.

There was a fair amount of talk last week about new polls showing an erosion of support for some of President Obama’s economic policies, with many opining that Obama now “owns” the economy.

But new numbers from Rasmussen suggest that a majority still blames the bad economy squarely on George W. Bush:

Some people say the nation’s current economic problems are due to the recession which began under the Bush Administration. Others say the problems are being caused more by the policies President Obama has put in place since taking office. Which point of view comes closest to your own?

54% Economic problems are due to the recession which began under the Bush administration

39% Economic problems are caused more by the policies of President Obama

7% Not sure

That's a pretty big gap.

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Nevada Gov Gibbons (R) Rejects Offer to Greet Obama at Airport

Dude, you are taking this way too far. He said that they shouldn't use taxpayer money for junkets to Vegas.

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons says he rejected a White House offer of a handshake meeting with President Barack Obama when he arrives in Las Vegas.

The Republican governor released a statement Monday saying he's not interested in a "momentary" greeting with the Democratic president.

Gibbons says he wants an apology and a promise to undo damage he says Obama caused with a February comment that corporations shouldn't use bailout funds for trips to Las Vegas.

Gibbons calls that comment an insult to Las Vegas and a message to companies to cancel corporate meetings and conventions in the tourism-dependent city.

Riot erupts at Indiana Old Navy over $1 flip flops

Good lord, things are that bad? The police were called.

MISHAWAKA — Shoppers pushed, shoved and screamed at each other as they fought over $1 flip-flops Saturday morning at the Mishawaka Old Navy store, customers and police say.

"It was insane, worse than the day after Thanksgiving," said Renee Becker, of Osceola, as she stood in the parking lot with 20 new pairs of sandals in bags at her feet.

(snip)

"You couldn’t move as the doors opened," Becker recounted in disbelief. "If the manager hadn’t jumped out of the way she would have been trampled."

(snip)

"It was crazy, I don’t know how else to describe it," said Becker, who heard about but did not see actual fights. "But the tension and tempers were high."

Customers screamed when they saw other people cutting in ahead of them in the checkout line that stretched around the store, police said.

Acting CFO of Freddie Mac found dead at his home, an apparent suicide

What the hell does this mean?

WASHINGTON - David Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac, was found dead at his home Wednesday morning in what broadcast reports said was an apparent suicide.

WUSA-TV and WTOP Radio reported that David Kellermann was found dead in his Northern Virginia home. The 41-year-old Kellermann has been Freddie Mac’s chief financial officer since September.

(snip)

Kellermann’s death is the latest blow to Freddie Mac, a government controlled company that owns or guarantees about 13 million home loans. CEO David Moffett resigned last month.

McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae, which together own or back more than half of the home mortgages in the country, have been hobbled by skyrocketing loan defaults and have received about $60 billion in combined federal aid.

New Media Buzz Phrase- "In This Economy..."

From our friends at The Full Ginsburg.

Elkhart RV supplier turns to making line of purses, totes to keep jobs

What a great idea and story. Guess there is some good news out there. You can see the bags here.

This could be a story about another downtrodden Elkhart County RV supplier that laid off most of its work force and is struggling to stay in business during the economic downturn.

Instead, this is an example of how ingenuity and determination created a new product for the Goshen-based company to manufacture during the downturn, thereby allowing some employees to return to work.

Decorator Industries has switched gears during the recession, swapping RV window treatments and bedding for shopping bags, totes and trendy purses. Some area retailers plan to stock the bags by the dozens, which means the company hopes to call a couple of dozen laid-off workers back.

"We're one local company helping another local company and the economy," said Pam Mitchell, who plans to stock the bags at her Gingerbread Cottage stores in Mishawaka and Elkhart. "They're bringing people back to work to make these bags. How great is that?"

A Must Read

I don't have any special insight or snarky thing to say about this except that you should read it. Here is a preview-

Doctors see economic impact on abortion, birth control

"This was a desired pregnancy — she'd been getting prenatal care — but they re-evaluated expenses and decided not to continue," said Dr. Pratima Gupta. "When I was doing the options counseling, she interrupted me halfway through, crying, and said, 'Dr. Gupta, I just walked here for an hour. I'm sure of my decision."'

This is happening in the greatest nation on earth? h/t Oliver.