CHESSNOID

The stock market goes up and down with big 1% swings on a regular basis.  Recently we are up about 25% after hitting a recent low.  Unfortunately, many experts I don’t agree with are predicting that was the market bottom and the economy is recovering.  I don’t know if that was the stock market bottom or not, but I can tell you with certainty the economy is not recovering.

I am from the big populous state of California which has a GDP larger than most countries.  Today, the employment reports came out and we have even more unemployment than last month.

April 17 (Bloomberg) –

Indiana in March joined seven other U.S. states with a jobless rate of at least 10 percent, and unemployment surged in Oregon, Washington and West Virginia as the worst employment slump in the postwar era rippled through the economy.

Indiana’s jobless rate jumped to 10 percent last month from 9.4 percent in February, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. Michigan, with 12.6 percent, remained the state with the highest unemployment rate, followed by Oregon at 12.1 percent. The rate in California rose to 11.2 percent from 10.6 percent.

When the big populous states with big GDPs start to hurt, the rest of the nation is going to feel it. California doesn’t have enough revenues to pay all its bills and is still making major cuts in a futile attempt to balance the budget. Most of the tax revenues lost come from businesses closing and houses lost to foreclosure.

NEW YORK (Reuters) –

U.S. foreclosure activity leaped 46 percent in March from a year earlier, hitting a record high as programs stunting the torrid pace of failing mortgages expired, RealtyTrac reported on Thursday.

A temporary freeze on foreclosures by major banks and government-controlled home finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ended before President Barack Obama’s massive housing stimulus, unveiled on March 6, could take root.

Filings, which include notice of default, auction sale or bank repossession, jumped 17 percent in March from February.

Filings for the quarter also marked a record high, jumping 24 percent from the same period a year ago.

Bank closings year to date are now equal to the total number of banks closed for all of 2009. At this rate, there will be at least 50 more banks to close by the end of the year.

NEW YORK (AP) —

Regulators on Friday shut down two more banks, boosting the number of failures this year to as many as in all of last year.

The tally of 25 bank failures this year all but guarantees the number that fall into the arms of regulators will surpass what was seen in 2008. Two of the nation’s largest savings and loans failed in 2008: Washington Mutual Inc. and IndyMac Bank. Last year’s total was more than in the previous five years combined and up from only three failures in 2007.

The latest banks seized were American Sterling Bank in Missouri and Great Basin Bank of Nevada. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will continue to insure deposits. Regular deposit accounts are insured up to $250,000.

To say that our economy is now recovering is ludicrous. Unemployment is up, foreclosures are up, businesses are closing, and the government continues wasteful spending by sponsoring fraudulent bailouts. I was a big critic when of Bush and all his wasteful spending, but Obama has already beat him out in just 100 days. Yes, I think Obama and his administration is hurting our economy more and pushing our country into a deeper recession.

Recently, we have had major banks and bailed out companies or bailed out counterparties announcing profits. They don’t fool anyone. Without taxpayer money, all those companies without exception would have posted losses. NONE of those major banks and companies produced more good and services that were sold to consumers in the first 3 months of 2009 to boost their profits. All these corrupt companies have done is do magical accounting to cook the books.

NY Times:

But the headline number — a net profit of $1.6 billion for the first quarter — was not quite what it seemed. Behind that figure was some fuzzy math.

Like several other banks that reported surprisingly strong results this week, Citigroup used some creative accounting, all of it legal, to bolster its bottom line at a pivotal moment.

While wisps of recovery are appearing in the nation’s banking industry — mortgage lending and trading income are up industrywide — many banks are doing all they can to make themselves look good.

The timing is crucial. Federal regulators are preparing to disclose the results of stress tests that could determine which banks are strong enough to return the taxpayer dollars that they have accepted, and which might need more. Many banks are eager to extricate themselves from the strings attached to the government bailout money, including restrictions on pay.

Meredith A. Whitney, a prominent research analyst, said in a recent report that what banks were doing amounted to a “great whitewash.” The industry’s goal — and one that some policy makers share — is to create the impression that banks are stabilizing so private investors will invest in them, minimizing the need for additional taxpayer money, she said.

Other banks have taken a similar approach. Bear Stearns, now absorbed into JPMorgan Chase, and Lehman Brothers, which plunged into bankruptcy last autumn, took advantage of credit value adjustments as their bonds lost value last year, as did Goldman Sachs.

JPMorgan, which reported strong results on Thursday, added $638 million to its first-quarter profit by availing itself of this adjustment. Bank of America and other large financial companies are expected to take similar steps when they report their results.

Citigroup also took advantage of beneficial changes in accounting rules related to toxic securities that have not traded in months. The rules took effect last month, after lobbying from the financial services industry.

Sometimes, men will start to become bald. In an effort to hide that fact or deny the truth, they will do the famous comb over thinking they are fooling others when they aren’t. These companies are not pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes. These corrupt companies are gaming the system to position themselves for more government intervention and to steal taxpayer money. Just say no to BAILOUTS.