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Without exception, every time oil spikes 100% or more within a short period of time (one year or less) it has eventually led to a recession. Well Bernanke’s insane monetary policy has virtually guaranteed that will play out again as oil has now risen over 140% since this cyclical bull began.
Amazingly enough oil has done this in a very low demand/high supply environment. This fact could only be true if the cause for oil’s rise in price is directly attributed to the Fed’s monetary policy.
Experts warn there won't be enough doctors to treat the millions of people newly insured under the law. At current graduation and training rates, the nation could face a shortage of as many as 150,000 doctors in the next 15 years, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Import growth continued to outpace export growth in February as the trade deficit rose 7.4 percent, to $39.7 billion, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
While some economists view the numbers optimistically, arguing that the increased trade deficit is a result of increased demand for consumer goods - a sure sign that the economy is improving - to some it is yet another example of America’s failed trade policies slowly but surely sinking the economy.
Imports for the months grew 1.7 percent, to $182.88 billion, an increase from the $179.84 billion worth of goods and services imported in January.
Exports of goods and services, however, rose just 0.2 percent to $143.7 billion. Still, that marks the highest level of exports the U.S. has seen since October 2008, the report says.
Many believe that as long as imports are outpacing exports, job losses are to be expected.
The slight rise on the Dow Jones Industrial Average was enough to push the index above 11,000 at the closing bell for the first time in 18 months. Unfortunately, after striving to finally pass that psychological threshold yesterday, markets pulled back at the opening bell Tuesday morning.
According to Bloomberg News, much of the drop today is based on sales estimates falling short of predicted numbers. The largest single influence was aluminum producer Alcoa, which lost 2.2 percent according to its first quarter report for 2010.
In other news, according to Reuters, President Hu Jintao told President Obama on Monday that Beijing would not give in to outside pressure when it comes to letting the yuan slip from its dollar peg. U.S.-China tensions have risen in the past few months ahead of speculation that Washington would finally take a tough stance against China’s overt manipulation of international currencies.
Every international authority in the world accepts that illegal manipulation is taking place; the U.S. needs only to have official recognition by the president (or his Treasury Secretary) to take action in countering this practice. Unfortunately, the White House is fearful of upsetting its largest creditor and starting an unnecessary international conflict. They hope that a negotiated float can be achieved, but at this rate it seems like China will only take the most marginal of steps toward real currency appreciation.