Monday September 16, 2013 another tragedy in America

12 people murdered at the Navy Yard outside Washington, DC. The shooter was killed though now it is unlikely we will learn of his twisted motivation to commit such a cowardly act on innocent people. How did he get past security? He had a couple of firearm charges in the past and also known psychiatric issues. No red lights went off to anyone? It seems we get the warnings but fail to act on them. That’s what political correctness gets you; dead Americans. We have the tools of prevention yet we fail to use the information we glean from them to prevent such atrocities. It is a sad commentary on the direction of our country.

Ok, it’s 3:30PM on Tuesday, the news is reporting that the shooter yesterday had previously complained of “hearing voices” in his head, that he had mental issues (really? Do normal people commit crimes like this?? How on earth did he get hired in the first place?). See what I mean about political correctness? Now we are trying to rationalize and explain away the reasons behind the crime he has committed, that somehow he is not at fault. As sure as I’m sitting here, society will soon be blamed for his crime and the gun control nuts will come out of the woodwork, as if the gun itself committed the crime. In reality, he was a rat (now a dead rat), a sicko (now a dead sicko) and he got his just reward. We don’t have to feed, house, clothe or otherwise care for him for the next 50 or 60 years. Perhaps if we had armed military personnel on our bases, this could have been avoided altogether.

  • Industrial Production in August 2013 expanded 0.4%.
  • Manufacturing increased 0.7% (year over year= +2.6%).
  • Capacity utilization increased 0.2% while the operating rate for factories rose 0.4%
  • Production increased in 14 of 19 manufacturing industries with the largest production advance seen in motor vehicle/parts.
What have we seen recently: The ISM Purchasing Managers Index has increased solidly the past two months.

Weekly initial unemployment claims are hitting new cyclical lows. Capital spending expectations are firming, Europe’s economy is looking “less bad”. We could be knocking at the door of a cyclical firming of the economy’s growth tendencies. These are the types of data we need to focus on: ISM, Leading Economic Indicators (LEI), Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI). All the other “fluff” means nothing to the direction of the economy.

  • The Empire State Manufacturing Survey was released and suggests that conditions have improved modestly for the fourth straight month.
  • The future general business conditions index also rose for the third straight month.
  • US raw steel production slid 1.5 percent last week from the previous week as mills operated at an average capability utilization rate (ACUR) of 76.9%. In the corresponding week last year mills operated at an ACUR of 70.4%. This year to date, mills have operated at an ACUR of 77.2% compared with last year’s ACUR of 77.0%.

The US Postal Service has announced that they are in need of an “emergency rate increase” as they have lost another $6 billion dollars. Privatize the postal service or fix it. Fixing it is NOT throwing more money at it. Why does every postal carrier have his or her own vehicle? For instance, when I was a boy, the mailman had a fine leather bag, he walked his route. I see the need for vehicles in rural areas, just makes sense, but how much money could be saved in vehicle cost, vehicle maintenance, fuel, insurance etc.? I am sure, as in any other government funded agency, plenty of waste can be found….and eliminated. Those in power just need to exercise a little will to do things better.

The stock market got a pop this week when Fed chairman Ben Bernanke announced that his monthly creation of a digitized $85 billion-which ends up in the stock market-will continue unabated for at least several weeks. These asset purchases, again, are funded out of thin air. On the news, gold jumped higher, the dollar lost almost a cent versus the euro, Treasury yields fell and stock prices spiked higher, as was mentioned.

The Committee (the FOMC) expects that, with appropriate policy accommodation, economic growth will pick up from its recent pace and the unemployment rate will gradually decline towards levels the Committee judges consistent with its dual mandate.” So, they have created and pumped $3 trillion into the system and they consider that to be appropriate, and yet it is still not enough???

The Lord giveth…and the Lord taketh away. It’s nearly 4:00PM on Friday, the Dow is down 150 points….
We got some good economic news this week, she’s trying, now if we could only get the government out of our way…

Have a great weekend,

Buy American whenever you are able and…

God Bless America