Update 1: Factory orders drop 1.2%, while inventories climb 1.3%. Another "green shoot" in Ben's hat.
Update 2: Large clouds of steam/smoke seen rising from reactor 4, EneNews.
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If the past three days of horrific economic data was not enough to convince you that the US and by extension, the entire global economy is in the throes of a very real depression, then perhaps the mood barometer of the US consumer (aka Consumer Confidence) should - as so aptly highlighted on ZeroHedge, consumer confidence is now lower than at any other point in time including tragedies such as the 1987 market crash, the dot.com bubble, 9/11, hurricane Katrina and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. That alone speaks bound volumes of information as to where the economy stands after 4 years of "stimulus" worth $5 Trillion and it's obvious to the savvy readers here where all the money is going (hint: if you're one of the bottom 99% of the population, it's not in your pocket). FWIW, insider stock sales this week doubled from the previous week, totaling $330 million in stock sales. We wonder why they have been heading for the exits since
In Europe, the problems are perhaps even worse. While you were sleeping, the gangrene called government debt, continued to undermine the social stability of Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain. One quick glance at the near record CDS spreads tells part of the story - investors who were fooled once won't be fooled again - and they expect an imminent
Considering how Iceland stuck it to the bankers and is now recovering better than ever, we think a default (or whatever euphemism you so choose) will be in their best interest long term. A fresh start for the people and a fresh currency which can actually compete, will be the result. Who will get stuck holding the short end of the stick? The
Certainly, this issue is highly complex and can't be solved in a single leap, but at this point in time, what could be worse? How about selling off your 2000 year old heritage to some bankers? Greek politicians are seriously considering that option and the Chinese are happy to buy.
Of course, not everything is about money. Or is it? As the situation in Japan spirals out of control and reaches full nuclear "Chernobyl on Steroids" and 40% of all Fukushima hospital patients are showing internal radiation poisoning and radioactive green tea is showing up 40 miles Southwest of Tokyo(!) TEPCO shares plummet on an S&P analysis of the situation. Too late. Any wonder why now some honest people are coming forth saying "Tokyo will be lost to radiation?" The cat is out of the bag. If the worlds 3rd largest economy becomes uninhabitable, is this bullish for the stock markets?
Finally, in other