News Headlines

Hmmm....Let's take a look at today's news headlines, and you tell me if it looks like things are getting better:

GOP Stands Firm, Putting Auto Bailout in Doubt
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and DAVID E. SANGER WASHINGTON - The prospects of a $14 billion government rescue of the American auto industry seemed to vaporize on Thursday morning as the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, ...

Recession seen worsening
Reuters - 4 hours agoBy Jim Christie SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The "nasty" US recession will tighten its grip next year as unemployment rises and weak home and stock prices imperil consumers, finance firms and debt-laden businesses, a UCLA Anderson Forecast report released ...

US Household Net Worth Fell Most on Record in Third Quarter
Bloomberg - 1 hour agoBy Shobhana Chandra Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- US household wealth fell from July to September by the most on record as property values and stock prices tumbled, Federal Reserve figures showed.

Foreclosure Storm Will Hit US in ‘09 Amid Job Loss (Update1)
Bloomberg - 1 hour agoBy Dan Levy Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- US foreclosure filings climbed 28 percent in November from a year earlier and a brewing “storm” of new defaults and job losses may force 1 million homeowners from their properties next year, RealtyTrac Inc. said.California has highest total number of foreclosure filings in November Bizjournals.comForeclosures dip - but hold the applause CNNMoney.com

Jobless claims jump to 573000, a 26-year high
MarketWatch - 4 hours agoBy Rex Nutting, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The US labor market weakened further last week, with the number of first-time filings for state unemployment benefits jumping by 58000 to a 26-year high of 573000, the Labor Department reported ...

US Exports Fall More Than Two Percent
Washington Post - 3 hours agoBy Howard Schneider US exports tumbled in October as a collapse in global demand for goods and services undermined what in recent months has been an important prop for an otherwise shrinking economy.Trade Deficit in US Widens as Exports Decrease (Update1) BloombergDeficit of $57.2 billion is wider than forecasts; oil imports jumped MarketWatch

KB Toys Files Bankruptcy, Citing ‘Sudden’ Sales Drop (Update2)
Bloomberg - 38 minutes agoBy Steven Church and Heather Burke Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- KB Toys Inc., the 86-year-old toy retailer, filed for bankruptcy with plans to shut its 277 stores, citing a “sudden drop” in sales.

Costco Doesn't Expect To Meet Analysts' 2Q Profit Estimate
2nd UPDATE: Lilly Sees Slower 2009 Sales Growth, Big 4Q Charge
Krispy Kreme Q3 loss widens
Ciena Posts Loss as Customers Push Back Orders


This is why I'm short the market. Maybe SKF wasn't the best thing I could've bought to accomplish this since it's limited to just the Financial sector, but I guess it's good enough. It's already up to $120 from $106 when I bought 2 days ago.

The U.S. dollar is finally starting to drop, so gold is starting to recover. Currently it is at $820. This means my Sprott funds are finally recovering a bit.

Oil shot up to $49 to day on the US dollar drop and expectation that OPEC will announce a big production cut in their Dec.17th meeting. Also, the International Energy Agency's latest monthly report said that they actually expect global oil demand to rise in 2009 by 500,000 barrels a day, going against the recent U.S. goverment Energy Information Administration's forecast that demand would drop by that same amount in 2009.