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-------------------- The cracks are showing in the financial system, folks... I did NOT like this week's news: - Barack Obama used his last Debit Ceiling increase to boost the Debt Limit $1.2 Trillion from, I believe, the ceiling of $15.2 Trillion. This phony number is a joke but the Bond markets seem to believe in its hype. Either way, you've quickly not heard of squat from the "Super Congress", nor did you notice any automatic cuts. Why, where did it go? - Speaking of DEBT, Standard & Poors ratings agency downgraded the shit out of the European Union member countries. Most, if not all, have a "negative outlook" and France and Austria lost their AAA rating. France's downgrade hurts because it's acting as a leader with Germany to help "save" the Euro Zone from collapse. OOPS. In "PIIGS" news, Greece had problems negotiating its debt today while Italy, Portugal, and Spain each received two rating category drops. It's only a matter of time, folks... KABOOM is coming soon and it's going to HURT. When European countries default OR their Banks crash, it will cause the rest of the world to bleed with the way United States Banks, Private citizens, and even our Government is heavily invested into Europe. - Jobless Claims jumped to 399,000 claims filed last week, up from 375,000 the previous week. Looks like Seasonal help won't be made permanent offers, while other cutbacks are occurring. - December Retail Sales only grew 0.1%, and that's the number before inflation is removed ("real" retail sales, to be reported later). That SUCKS, as the news media was trumpeting a very successful Holiday sales season. Funny, because I heard a story that December saw an unusually large amount of Returns seen by stores with customers having "second thoughts" on what they bought. Not a good week's worth of news... I REALLY worry about the European Union exploding HARD sometime in 2012. Save your money folks! CONTACT MR. TITO - Email: [email protected] - Twitter: @titowrestling - Join LoPForums.com: Feedback Thread BLOG is TITO Archive on LoPForums.com © Mr. Tito 1998 - 2011
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