Sign of the Beast! 6.66 Million Receiving Jobless Benefits
Headline is for the End Times Asshats.
From Bloomberg:
More Americans than forecast filed claims for unemployment insurance last week, and the total number of workers receiving benefits rose to a record, signs the job market continues to weaken even as the economic slump eases.
Initial jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 631,000 in the week ended May 16, from a revised 643,000 the prior week that was higher than initially estimated, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The total number of people collecting benefits rose to 6.66 million, a record reading for a 16th straight week, and a sign companies are still not hiring.
Daily Graphic: The Huge Decline in State Tax Revenue
PIT = Personal Income Tax
(Source: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government)
Transcript: Ben Bernanke Stress Tests Speech, Jekyll Island, Georgia
(Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)
My remarks this evening will focus on the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program, popularly known as the banking stress test. The federal bank regulatory agencies began the assessment program in late February and concluded their review with the release of the results just last Thursday. This initiative involved an unprecedented, simultaneous supervisory review of the 19 largest bank holding companies in the United States. Its objective was to ensure that these institutions have sufficient financial strength to absorb losses and to remain strongly capitalized, even in an economic environment more severe than currently anticipated. A well-capitalized banking system is essential for the revival of the credit flows that will underpin a sustainable economic recovery.
The Daily Graphic: St. Louis Fed Chart – Mortgage Denial Rates by Loan Type, 1999 to 2008
The chart below comes from the St. Louis Fed’s National Economic Trends for May. It appears lenders did tighten their purse strings, but perhaps not enough, nor quickly enough.
The Daily Graphic: U.S. Household Borrowing vs. Personal Savings Rate
This graph from the latest National Economic Trends from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis:
