12/12 Economic News

Interesting economic news

• RMDs likely suspended for 2009 (not 2008) — A one year (2009) benny only.  It has passed house and senate and is now on presdents desk.  It also contains funding relief for company pensions.
• Auto Bailout Bill dies in Senate — No bill this year, which means it goes back to being TARP money with few strings if the administration decides it must help the automakers.
• Retail Sales Down 8.4% since November 2007 — Another huge number
• $50 Billion Hedge Fund Ponzi Scheme — Wow!  You can’t accuse him of not thinking big .
• Homeowners redefaulting — For mortgages that have been modified, 58% of them redefault within 8 months.
• Gasoline demand rising — With lower prices, gasoline demand is back up to around where it was last June.  Since oil prices are still low, that shows how much other types of oil related demand has gone down.
• Exports Traffic Falls to 2006 Levels — This is an 18% decline from 2007.