Obamacare

This “law of the land” has been amended 28 times already by the Obama administration in order to fit its agenda. If I am not mistaken, laws approved and enacted by the Congress also require an act of Congress to amend. This administration changes written law as it sees fit. It is just ridiculous. Now, employers with 50-99 employees will NOT be fined next year if they fail to provide health insurance to their employees and will not have to comply with the law until 2016. Companies with 100 or more employees can avoid penalties in 2015 if they have offered coverage to at least 70% of their full-time workers. The nods to business are pervasive yet the Individual Mandate has not been touched. Screw the middle class, or what’s left of it, right?

US raw steel production

… jumped 1.9 percent last week as mills operated at an average capability utilization rate (ACUR) of 76.8 percent, the highest level since mid November. In the corresponding week last year mills operated at an ACUR of 78.3 percent. Thus far this year mills have operated at an ACUR of 76.2 percent down from 77.3 percent in the same period last year.

Debt Ceiling

The House of Representatives Tuesday voted to suspend the nations borrowing limit until March 16, 2015 WITHOUT any policy conditions, which are usually a give and take. This is a tactical retreat by Republicans. The bill cleared the House relying on support of a majority of Democrats thus pushing the Debt Ceiling debate out until AFTER the 2014 mid-term elections. Care to play politics anyone? What a load of horse crap!! Naturally, the Senate passed the bill the very next day, sending it to the president for his expected signature. Open the flood gates, we can spend all we want!

This is nice; Ray Nagin, former Mayor of New Orleans was convicted on 20 of 21 counts of bribery and other related corruption charges. So, in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, while his people were suffering and the federal government was shoveling him money, he was busy stealing the money and screwing those who voted for him. Nice guy.

From the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

Industrial production decreased 0.3 percent in January after having risen 0.3 percent in December. In January, manufacturing output fell 0.8 percent partly because of the severe weather that curtailed production in some regions of the country. Additionally, manufacturing production is now reported to have been lower in the fourth quarter, the index is now estimated to have advanced at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter rather than the 6.2 percent previously reported.”

An overview of the Quarterly Economic Trends Report follows, produced by the Institute for Trend Research and for the benefit of the Precision Machined Products Association

We raised our US Industrial Production outlook for 2014 by 2.2%. if we were to look simply at results to date, we would leave the forecast for 2014 alone since 2013 came in just 0.3% below the outlook we posted in the first quarter of 2013. Changing a forecast when results are on target is never easy. It is particularly troublesome when a favorable shift is not universally supported by the extant indicators.”

We are still calling for rate-of-change decline in 2014 extending into 2015 and that the economy’s rate of growth this year is expected to be below that posted for 2013 (2013 came in at 2.6% growth vs 1.9 % projected for 2014). We are still calling for a period of seasonal softness in late 2014 and early 2015 but the annual trend will not overtly decline. The quantitative difference between the previous and the revised forecast is minimal. Looking beyond this year, 2015 is now forecast to come in 1.6% higher than previously estimated. We are still expecting business cycle rise in 2015, 2016 and 2017, although we are forecasting US Industrial Production will have a “soft landing” in 2014, don’t automatically assume that every industry or market segment will experience the same cycle.”

(not sure why they would choose to report that. It is only common sense….in my view)

We have seen the S&P 500 decline 3.6% from the end of December and the ISM’s Purchasing Manager Index for January head lower to 51.3. The PMI rate of change nose-dived in January to -3.4%. A drop below zero is not necessarily an indication of impending recession , but it is a clear signal that the economy’s late 2013 upward momentum is going to be shifting to, at best, deceleration mode during 2014. The shift in the PMI is therefore consistent with our forecast for slower growth in 2014. The drop in the stock market is potentially more disconcerting – if it continues.”

( I would agree, a prolonged contraction in the markets is not a healthy sign however, after last years’ 25% advance, a market correction of around 10% is welcome and overdue.)

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

Go Team USA!!

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