THE ECONOMY–RECESSION OR DEPRESSION?: Professor Peter Morici, (a U. of Maryland Economist often appearing on cable news as we remember it) a former chief economist at the U.S. Trade Commission has broken with the majority of other senior U.S. economists in saying the current U.S. recession is actually the U.S. looking into the face of a Great Depression like that of the 1930’s.
The article entitled “Chief Economist: It’s A Depression” (prisonplanet.com, 1/12/09) goes on to note that Professor Morici told the financial publication Kiplinger, “…that a 5 per cent contraction in the fourth quarter made the crisis ‘worse than a recession’ .”
The article continues, noting that Professor Morici’s opinion closely correlates to the one delivered by the prestigious financial publication, “The Economist” earlier this month “…that based on the characteristics of the current financial crisis, the U.S. is in a depression, not a recession.”
THE ECONOMY–A CHINA “NO” ? : moneynews.com notes in it’s 1/09/09 entitled “China Turning It’s Back on U.S. Debt” that as the world’s financial crisis grows and the U.S. need for financing increases, China is turning inward to meet it’s own financial needs thereby promising to reduce it’s buying of U.S. bonds.
It might be helpful here to recall that the U.S. NEEDS to borrow about 3 billion dollars per day to keep it’s financial house in order and that China has played a significant role in providing a portion of this financing.
GEO-POLITICAL–ISRAEL VS. IRAN : “ The Time Clock Has Run Out: Israel Ready to Strike Iran” says the headline story today at newsmax.com. by Jim Meyers.
Newsmax says in this article, that Washington sources tell them that, “…Israel indeed will launch a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities soon–possibly in just days as President George W. Bush prepares to leave office.”
This information seems to be supported by a prediction from former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton who has stated that he believed that Israel would stage such a raid if Barak Obama were to become president and that this would happen between the presidential election and Obama’s inauguration.
Also seeming to support the possibility of an Isreali strike are the comments by former U.S. Secretary of Defense, William Perry that Obama would face a major crisis shortly after taking office over Iran’s nuclear weapons program and that “…it seems clear that Israel will not sit by idle while Iran takes the final steps toward becoming a nuclear power.”
The world is in rapid and possibly radical change.
Until next time then, keep your eyes on the horizon.
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