Total Industrial Production rebounded 1.0% in September following a slight 0.2% dip in August.

Output for August was revised 0.1 percent lower. Manufacturing output reversed course in September rising 0.5%. The September jump in total production was the largest increase in 22 months but looking beneath the headlines, half the advance can be accounted for by a 1.8% advance in mining output and a 3.9% increase in utility production. Overall industrial production is up 4.3% year over year with manufacturing up 3.7% over the last twelve months.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia: October Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey

Respondents indicated continued growth in the regions manufacturing sector. Most broad indicators of current growth, while positive, weakened from higher readings last month. The survey’s indicators for future manufacturing conditions fell from higher readings but continued to reflect general optimism about growth in activity and employment over the next six months.

US raw steel output

… fell to a six month low as mills operated at an average capability utilization rate (ACUR) of 75.0 percent. In the corresponding week last year mills operated at an ACUR of 76.5 percent. Thus far this year mills have operated at an ACUR of 77.2 percent up from the same period last year when mills operated at an ACUR of 77.0 percent. (American Metal Market 10/15/14)

Whew! What a ride the stock market has been on of late

… down 800 or 900 points in the past week. But why? There is a growing consensus that “a slowdown across many parts of the world are roiling the financial markets and confounding policy makers, who after years of battling anemic economic growth have limited tools left to jump-start a recovery.” FRIDAY: the DOW closes up 263 points….

Slumping exports in Germany are adding fuel to worries about a third recession in the euro zone in 6 years. China is slowing in the wake of its credit boom, weighing on countries throughout the region. Japan’s economy has recently contracted despite a policy offensive to lift it from years of stagnation. Other onetime powerhouses from Brazil to South Africa are also struggling.”

The pullback is sending tremors through global markets, hammering equities after years of steady gains and knocking down commodity prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday turned negative for the year. A recent drop in oil prices-a decline of about 20% in four months-reflects the downward pressure on global growth.”

The US remains a relative bright spot in an otherwise gloomy picture, particularly its job market, which is gaining traction after years of fitful growth. But doubts are building over the US economy’s ability to accelerate as some of its biggest trading partners struggle.”

Wall Street Journal 10/13/14

This is nice:

We have ISIS a mere 15 miles from the Baghdad airport, we have another Dallas, Texas civilian stricken with the Ebola virus, the World Health Organization reported Tuesday that upwards of 10,000 new cases of Ebola PER WEEK could possibly be reported by early December as the outbreak continues to expand and yet the president continues to attend fundraisers and Chuck Hagel, the Secretary of Defense, along with John Kerry, Secretary of State (warning that climate change could end life as we know it…what a moron), have been bloviating on the imagined crisis of climate change or global warming or whatever they call it today. This administration is a joke of unparalleled proportions. The world is on fire and they are worried about ice. Anything to get the minds of uninformed or wrongly informed voters off the issues which are important, especially as the mid-term elections are only a couple of weeks away.

Chemical Weapons Found in Iraq

The New York Times this week published an article that has re-ignited a 12 year old debate: Was then President George W. Bush right about Iraq? It appears the article writer; C.J. Chivers, investigated US soldiers who suffered from exposure to sulfur mustard gas and other nerve gases which emitted from bombs in Iraq. According to the story, about “5,000 chemical warheads, shells and aviation bombs” were found scattered across Iraqi soil.

The US government, for some unknown reason, buried the information from both the public and American troops. As a result, injured soldiers did not receive proper medical treatment. A year after the 9/11 attacks president Bush told the United Nations that inspections showed that “stockpiles of VX, mustard and other chemical agents” were likely hidden in Iraq and that the regime was “rebuilding and expanding” chemical weapons production facilities.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR TO VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4, 2014

Remember:

Fast & Furious-providing weapons to criminals leading to a loss of American life. No one held accountable. The president was unaware.
The loss of 4 American lives at our embassy in Benghazi, Libya. No one held accountable. The president was unaware.
The IRS targeting conservative political groups for tax-exempt status. No one held accountable. The president was unaware.
The National Security Administration eavesdropping on the phone calls of American citizens. No one held accountable. The president was unaware.
The software program created for the Affordable Healthcare Act, at a cost of $1 billion (thus far) and 3 ½ years to “perfect”, has been unusable to the American people. No one held accountable. The president was unaware.
Spying on our Allies, specifically Angela Merkel of Germany. No one held accountable. The president was unaware. (Although these things go on knowingly between countries all the time, the fact that our president denies knowledge of this is just another sign of his incompetence as the leader of the most powerful country on the planet).
“If you like your current insurance plan you can keep it. Period” Barack Obama
“If you like your doctor, you can keep him. Period” Barack Obama

Have a great weekend and….

Hug your children and grandchildren, tell them you love them.
Buy American made products whenever you can.
Hire a Veteran: they are patriots, honest, hard working, disciplined, loyal…. and …. They need and deserve our support.

God Bless America