Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property
located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 2.0 percent in the third quarter of 2012 (that
is, from the second quarter to the third quarter), according to the "advance" estimate released by the
Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.3 percent.

      The Bureau emphasized that the third-quarter advance estimate released today is based on source
data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency (see box below).  The
"second" estimate for the third quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on November 29,
2012.

      The increase in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from
personal consumption expenditures (PCE), federal government spending, and residential fixed
investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from exports, nonresidential fixed
investment, and private inventory investment.  Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of
GDP, decreased.

      The acceleration in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected an upturn in federal
government spending, a downturn in imports, an acceleration in PCE, a smaller decrease in private
inventory investment, an acceleration in residential fixed investment, and a smaller decrease in state and
local government spending that were partly offset by downturns in exports and in nonresidential fixed
investment.

____________

FOOTNOTE.  Quarterly estimates are expressed at seasonally adjusted
annual rates, unless otherwise specified.  Quarter-to-quarter dollar changes
are differences between these published estimates.  Percent changes are
calculated from unrounded data and are annualized.  "Real" estimates are in
chained (2005) dollars.  Price indexes are chain-type measures.

      This news release is available on BEA’s Web site along with the Technical Note and Highlights related to this release.
____________

      Final sales of computers added 0.17 percentage point to the third-quarter change in real GDP
after subtracting 0.10 percentage point from the second-quarter change.  Motor vehicle output subtracted
0.47 percentage point from the third-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.20 percentage point to
the second-quarter change.

      The price index for gross domestic purchases, which measures prices paid by U.S. residents,
increased 1.5 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 0.7 percent in the second.
Excluding food and energy prices, the price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.3 percent in
the third quarter, compared with an increase of 1.4 percent in the second.

      Real personal consumption expenditures increased 2.0 percent in the third quarter, compared
with an increase of 1.5 percent in the second.  Durable goods increased 8.5 percent, in contrast to a
decrease of 0.2 percent.  Nondurable goods increased 2.4 percent, compared with an increase of 0.6
percent.  Services increased 0.8 percent, compared with an increase of 2.1 percent.

      Real nonresidential fixed investment decreased 1.3 percent in the third quarter, in contrast to an
increase of 3.6 percent in the second.  Nonresidential structures decreased 4.4 percent, in contrast to an
increase of 0.6 percent.  Equipment and software decreased less than 0.1 percent, in contrast to an
increase of 4.8 percent.  Real residential fixed investment increased 14.4 percent, compared with an
increase of 8.5 percent.

      Real exports of goods and services decreased 1.6 percent in the third quarter, in contrast to an
increase of 5.3 percent in the second.  Real imports of goods and services decreased 0.2 percent, in
contrast to an increase of 2.8 percent.

      Real federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment increased 9.6 percent
in the third quarter, in contrast to a decrease of 0.2 percent in the second.  National defense increased
13.0 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 0.2 percent.  Nondefense increased 3.0 percent, in contrast to a
decrease of 0.4 percent.  Real state and local government consumption expenditures and gross
investment decreased 0.1 percent, compared with a decrease of 1.0 percent.

      The change in real private inventories subtracted 0.12 percentage point from the third-quarter
change in real GDP after subtracting 0.46 percentage point from the second-quarter change.  Farm
inventories subtracted 0.42 percentage point from the third-quarter change after subtracting 0.17
percentage point from the second-quarter change.  Nonfarm inventories added 0.30 percentage point to
the third-quarter change after subtracting 0.29 percentage point from the second-quarter change.

      Real final sales of domestic product -- GDP less change in private inventories -- increased 2.1
percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 1.7 percent in the second.

Gross domestic purchases

      Real gross domestic purchases -- purchases by U.S. residents of goods and services wherever
produced -- increased 2.1 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 1.0 percent in the
second.

Disposition of personal income

      Current-dollar personal income increased $89.3 billion (2.7 percent) in the third quarter,
compared with an increase of $130.3 billion (4.0 percent) in the second.

      Personal current taxes increased $13.2 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of
$20.2 billion in the second.

      Disposable personal income increased $76.1 billion (2.6 percent) in the third quarter, compared
with an increase of $110.0 billion (3.8 percent) in the second.  Real disposable personal income
increased 0.8 percent, compared with an increase of 3.1 percent.

      Personal outlays increased $111.4 billion (4.0 percent) in the third quarter, compared with an
increase of $57.4 billion (2.0 percent) in the second.  Personal saving -- disposable personal income less
personal outlays -- was $445.0 billion in the third quarter, compared with $480.3 billion in the second.
The personal saving rate -- personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income -- was 3.7
percent in the third quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the second.  For a comparison of personal
saving in BEA’s national income and product accounts with personal saving in the Federal Reserve
Board’s flow of funds accounts and data on changes in net worth, go to
www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/Nipa-Frb.asp.

Current-dollar GDP

      Current-dollar GDP -- the market value of the nation's output of goods and services -- increased
5.0 percent, or $190.1 billion, in the third quarter to a level of $15,775.7 billion.  In the second quarter,
current-dollar GDP increased 2.8 percent, or $107.3 billion.

______________

BOX.     Information on the assumptions used for unavailable source data is provided in a technical note that
is posted with the news release on BEA's Web site.  Within a few days after the release, a detailed "Key
Source Data and Assumptions" file is posted on the Web site.  In the middle of each month, an analysis of
the current quarterly estimate of GDP and related series is made available on the Web site; click on Survey
of Current Business, "GDP and the Economy."  For information on revisions, see "Revisions to GDP, GDI, and
Their Major Components."
______________

      BEA's national, international, regional, and industry estimates; the Survey of Current Business;
and BEA news releases are available without charge on BEA's Web site at www.bea.gov. By visiting the
site, you can also subscribe to receive free e-mail summaries of BEA releases and announcements.

                                        *          *          *

Next release -- November 29, 2012, at 8:30 A.M. EST for:
Gross Domestic Product:  Third Quarter 2012 (Second Estimate)
Corporate Profits:  Third Quarter (Preliminary Estimate)

                                        *          *          *

Release Dates in 2013

           	 2012: IV and 2012 annual    	2013: I     	2013: II          2013: III

Gross Domestic Product
Advance...		January 30            	April 26	July 31		  October 30
Second...		February 28          	May 30      	August 29	  November 26
Third... 		March 28             	June 26     	September 26	  December 20

Corporate Profits
Preliminary...          ........		May 30      	August 29	  November 26
Revised... 		March 28             	June 26     	September 26	  December 20

                                            Comparisons of Revisions to GDP

     Quarterly estimates of GDP are released on the following schedule:  the "advance" estimate, based on
source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency, is released near the end of the
first month after the end of the quarter; as more detailed and more comprehensive data become available,
the "second" and "third" estimates are released near the end of the second and third months, respectively.
The "latest"” estimate reflects the results of both annual and comprehensive revisions.

     Annual revisions, which generally cover the quarters of the 3 most recent calendar years, are usually carried
out each summer and incorporate newly available major annual source data.  Comprehensive (or benchmark)
revisions are carried out at about 5-year intervals and incorporate major periodic source data, as well as
improvements in concepts and methods that update the accounts to portray more accurately the evolving U.S.
economy.

The table below shows comparisons of the revisions between quarterly percent changes of current-dollar
and of real GDP for the different vintages of the estimates.  From the advance estimate to the second estimate (one
month later), the average revision to real GDP without regard to sign is 0.5 percentage point, while from the
advance estimate to the third estimate (two months later), it is 0.6 percentage point.  From the advance estimate to
the latest estimate, the average revision without regard to sign is 1.3 percentage points.  The average revision
(with regard to sign) from the advance estimate to the latest estimate is 0.2 percentage point, which is larger
than the average revisions from the advance estimate to the second or to the third estimates.  The larger average
revisions to the latest estimate reflect the fact that comprehensive revisions include major improvements, such as
the incorporation of BEA’s latest benchmark input-output accounts.  The quarterly estimates correctly indicate the
direction of change of real GDP 97 percent of the time, correctly indicate whether GDP is accelerating or
decelerating 72 percent of the time, and correctly indicate whether real GDP growth is above, near, or below trend
growth more than four-fifths of the time.

                           Revisions Between Quarterly Percent Changes of GDP: Vintage Comparisons
                                                     [Annual rates]

       Vintages                                   Average         Average without     Standard deviation of
       compared                                                    regard to sign      revisions without
                                                                                         regard to sign

____________________________________________________Current-dollar GDP_______________________________________________

Advance to second....................               0.2                 0.6                  0.4
Advance to third.....................                .1                  .7                   .4
Second to third......................                .0                  .3                   .2

Advance to latest....................                .3                 1.2                  1.0

________________________________________________________Real GDP_____________________________________________________

Advance to second....................               0.1                 0.5                  0.4
Advance to third.....................                .1                  .6                   .5
Second to third......................                .0                  .2                   .2

Advance to latest....................                .2                 1.3                  1.0

NOTE.  These comparisons are based on the period from 1983 through 2009.

Series Id:           LNS13327709 

Seasonally Adjusted 
Series title:        (seas) Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers 
                      plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of all civilian labor force
                      plus all marginally attached workers 
Labor force status:  Aggregated totals unemployed 
Type of data:        Percent or rate 
Age:                 16 years and over 
Percent/rates:       Unemployed and mrg attached and pt for econ reas as percent of labor force 
                     plus marg attached

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed                   USDL-12-1981
until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, October 5, 2012

Technical information:
 Household data:       (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
 Establishment data:   (202) 691-6555  *  cesinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/ces

Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

                    THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- SEPTEMBER 2012

The unemployment rate decreased to 7.8 percent in September, and total nonfarm 
payroll employment rose by 114,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 
today. Employment increased in health care and in transportation and warehousing 
but changed little in most other major industries.

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to 7.8 percent in September. 
For the first 8 months of the year, the rate held within a narrow range of 8.1 
and 8.3 percent. The number of unemployed persons, at 12.1 million, decreased by 
456,000 in September. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.3 percent), 
adult women (7.0 percent), and whites (7.0 percent) declined over the month. 
The unemployment rates for teenagers (23.7 percent), blacks (13.4 percent), and 
Hispanics (9.9 percent) were little changed. The jobless rate for Asians, at 
4.8 percent (not seasonally adjusted), fell over the year. (See tables A-1, A-2, 
and A-3.)

In September, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs 
decreased by 468,000 to 6.5 million. (See table A-11.)

The number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks declined by 302,000 over 
the month to 2.5 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 
27 weeks or more) was little changed at 4.8 million and accounted for 40.1 
percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

Total employment rose by 873,000 in September, following 3 months of little 
change. The employment-population ratio increased by 0.4 percentage point to 
58.7 percent, after edging down in the prior 2 months. The overall trend in 
the employment-population ratio for this year has been flat. The civilian labor 
force rose by 418,000 to 155.1 million in September, while the labor force 
participation rate was little changed at 63.6 percent. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes 
referred to as involuntary part-time workers) rose from 8.0 million in August 
to 8.6 million in September. These individuals were working part time because 
their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time 
job. (See table A-8.)

In September, 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, 
essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally 
adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were 
available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. 
They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work 
in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 802,000 discouraged workers in 
September, a decline of 235,000 from a year earlier. (These data are not 
seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking 
for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 
1.7 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in September had 
not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such 
as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 114,000 in September. In 2012, 
employment growth has averaged 146,000 per month, compared with an average 
monthly gain of 153,000 in 2011. In September, employment rose in health care 
and in transportation and warehousing. (See table B-1.)

Health care added 44,000 jobs in September. Job gains continued in ambulatory 
health care services (+30,000) and hospitals (+8,000). Over the past year, 
employment in health care has risen by 295,000.

In September, employment increased by 17,000 in transportation and warehousing. 
Within the industry, there were job gains in transit and ground passenger 
transportation (+9,000) and in warehousing and storage (+4,000).

Employment in financial activities edged up in September (+13,000), reflecting 
modest job growth in credit intermediation (+6,000) and real estate (+7,000).

Manufacturing employment edged down in September (-16,000). On net, manufacturing 
employment has been unchanged since April. In September, job losses occurred 
in computer and electronic products (-6,000) and in printing and related 
activities (-3,000).

Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, construction, 
wholesale trade, retail trade, information, professional and business services, 
leisure and hospitality, and government, showed little change over the month.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 
0.1 hour to 34.5 hours in September. The manufacturing workweek edged up by 
0.1 hour to 40.6 hours, and factory overtime was unchanged at 3.2 hours. 
The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private 
nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm 
payrolls rose by 7 cents to $23.58. Over the past 12 months, average hourly 
earnings have risen by 1.8 percent. In September, average hourly earnings of 
private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 5 cents 
to $19.81. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised from 
+141,000 to +181,000, and the change for August was revised from +96,000 to 
+142,000.

____________
The Employment Situation for October is scheduled to be released on
Friday, November 2, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htmEmployment Situation Summary Table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted

Pronk Pops Show 88, Segment 3: Ben Bernanke Creates More Digital Electronic Money (DEM) with Quantitative Easing 3–The Crime of The Century Continues Against The American People–The Not So Hidden Inflation Tax–Videos

Posted on October 6, 2012. Filed under: American History, Budgetary Policy, Business, Communications, Economics, Employment, Energy, Fiscal Policy, Government, Government Spending, Health Care, Health Care Insurance, History, Illegal Immigration, Immigration, Investments, Labor Economics, Law, Media, Monetary Policy, Philosophy, Politics, Tax Policy, Technology, Videos, Wisdom | Tags: Central Bank, Economics, Printing Money, The Federal Reserve System, Videos |

Pronk Pops Show 88: October 7, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 87: September 7, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 86: August 29, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 85: August 2, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 84: July 25, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 83: July 18, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 82: July 11, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 81: July 8, 2012

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 88

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 84-87

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 79-83

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 74-78

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 71-73

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 68-70

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 65-67

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 62-64

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 58-61

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 55-57

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 52-54

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 49-51

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 45-48

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 41-44

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 38-40

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 34-37

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 30-33

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 27-29

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 17-26

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 16-22

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 10-15

Listen To Pronk Pops Podcast or Download Shows 01-09

Segment 3: Ben Bernanke Creates More Digital Electronic Money (DEM) with Quantitative Easing 3–The Crime of The Century Continues Against The American People–The Not So Hidden Inflation Tax–Videos

Fed Launches Third Attempt to Stimulate Economy

Marc Faber on Hedging the Bernanke Put and QE3 with Gold, Land and Equities!

Ben Bernanke / Federal Reserve Announces QE3 – How Will Printing Fiat Money Improve The Economy?

QE3 Warfare Against The Dollar, Its People and U.S. Sovereignty

Fed risks political fallout from QE3

By Robin Harding and James Politi in Washington

“…High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7de9070-fe77-11e1-8028-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz26f7jO8MB

The US Federal Reserve was always going to catch a few political bullets if it launched an aggressive new easing only eight weeks before a presidential election.

Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, duly opened fire on Friday after the Fed began an open-ended third round of quantitative easing (QE3), under which it will buy $40bn of mortgage-backed securities a month.

In some of the most aggressive comments he has made on the Fed, Mr Romney said QE3 was nothing but a “sugar high”, and would fail to get the economy moving.

“Recognise that, as the Federal Reserve keeps on trying to stimulate the economy by printing more money, that there’s a cost to that,” said Mr Romney in remarks at a fundraiser.

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7de9070-fe77-11e1-8028-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz26f7jO8MB

The US Federal Reserve was always going to catch a few political bullets if it launched an aggressive new easing only eight weeks before a presidential election.

Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, duly opened fire on Friday after the Fed began an open-ended third round of quantitative easing (QE3), under which it will buy $40bn of mortgage-backed securities a month.

In some of the most aggressive comments he has made on the Fed, Mr Romney said QE3 was nothing but a “sugar high”, and would fail to get the economy moving.

“Recognise that, as the Federal Reserve keeps on trying to stimulate the economy by printing more money, that there’s a cost to that,” said Mr Romney in remarks at a fundraiser.

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7de9070-fe77-11e1-8028-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz26f81Vjb0

Some conservative economists think the Fed is over-interpreting the employment side of the dual mandate – and by lowering interest rates and making it easier for the US to finance debt in the bond markets, this removes the pressure from Congress to strike a deal on deficit reduction.

The most visible effort to clip the Fed’s wings is a bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Kevin Brady, a Republican from Texas, who is vice-chair of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. His bill would limit the central bank’s mandate to inflation, not employment, and restrict its monetary policy operations to short-term Treasury securities.

Were his bill now law, Mr Brady told the Financial Times, “the Fed would not be able to embark on this third round of quantitative easing”. He said the bill had taken off faster than he had hoped and already had 48 co-sponsors in Congress. “Everyone, whether they agree or not, believes it is the right time to have this discussion.”

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7de9070-fe77-11e1-8028-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz26f89yxsV

But while Mr Romney has criticised QE3, it would be a huge leap to eliminate the employment mandate once in office. “I think you can do a lot without changes to the Federal Reserve Act,” says Prof Swagel. “Romney will probably look to appoint the next Fed chair as someone who is aligned with his views.”

That is the most realistic political consequence of the Fed’s actions: that when Mr Bernanke’s term expires at the end of January 2014, a new chairman is appointed who opposes them.

Once settled in the White House, however, even Mr Romney would have to consider whether a tight monetary policy was actually in his interest, given that re-election would probably depend on delivering strong economic growth.

Whether QE3 has any lasting political consequences for the Fed will probably depend on how well it works. “It puts critics of the Fed in a difficult position,” said John Makin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, who called the programme of open-ended easing a “bold experiment”.

The Fed is trying to bring down high unemployment and, while the experiment is in progress, critics will struggle to make headway. If the experiment fails, however, and inflation rises sharply before unemployment comes down, the Fed may find itself hard-pressed to resist the proposals of Mr Brady and his colleagues. …”

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7de9070-fe77-11e1-8028-00144feabdc0.html#axzz26f3NWTyR

Marc Faber: If I Were Bernanke, I Would Resign

“…Central bankers are “counterfeit money printers” and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke should resign for messing up the U.S. economy so badly, Marc Faber, author of the Gloom, Doom and Boom, told CNBC on Friday.

He said Bernanke was one of the main proponents of an ultra-expansionist economic monetary policy that was to blame for the latest financial crisis.

“If I had messed up as badly as Bernanke I would for sure resign. The mandate of the Fed to boost asset prices and thereby create wealth is ludicrous — it doesn’t work that way. It’s a temporary boost followed by a crash,” Faber said.

Faber, who rose to prominence after predicting the 1987 financial crash report and dubbed “Dr Doom” for his negative predictions, said: “This unlimited QE (quantitative easing) , buying mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and continuing operation twist has the implication of simply having asset prices go up and the money flows down to the Mayfair economy,” Faber said.

A Mayfair economy is one which benefits the wealthier and better off in society. Faber said this latest round of QE would not help the “man on the street”.

“QE helps rich people whose asset prices go up and whose net worth then increases but it doesn’t flow to the man on the street who is faced with higher costs of living with price rises. You just have a small economy that is booming but the majority of the economy is damaged by QE,” he said.

Bernanke announced on Thursday that the Fed would buy $40 billion a month in MBS, giving the impression that this time around there would be no time limit to the program, which would only stop once a sustained uptick in employment is visible.

“The money printers are responsible for this crisis. If we continue with this expansionist monetary policy we won’t be facing a fiscal cliff it will be a fiscal grand canyon,” he added.

Mike Konczal, fellow at the Roosevelt Institute disagreed claiming that this latest round of QE — aggressive as it was — would expand the scope of Federal Reserve policy and was “great for main street”. Crucially, he said, it tackles the issue of employment which would underpin future wealth.

“If anything, monetary policy has been too tight in recent years. We’ve seen a collapse in GDP growth, no wage growth and huge rises in unemployment. Wealth is collapsing because of a collapse in the housing market and prolonged, mass unemployment ,” Konczal said.

Faber poured scorn on the notion that QE helps the economy, declaring that commentators like Konczal would have said the same in 2001 when low interest rates led to the biggest housing bubble in the United States. That in turn led to the financial crisis of 2008.

“If we have an economic crisis in the Western world it’s because the government makes up 50 percent or more of the economy. This is a cancer that is taking away people’s freedom,” he said.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49029923

Helicopter Bernanke’s economy influx of money will rescue Obama, not you, here’s why

by Jim Picht

“…Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s decision to engage in a third round of “quantitative easing” (QE3) drew immediate celebration from Wall Street, but it was also met by a reduction in America’s credit rating. Ratings firm Egan-Jones reduced its rating of U.S. government debt from “AA” to “AA-,” claiming that the $40 billion-per-month money infusion announced by the Fed will badly hurt the economy.

Bernanke got his nickname, “Helicopter Ben,” for comments like this: “The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at no cost.”

He goes on to argue, in the words of Milton Friedman before him, that a “helicopter drop” of money might be made into the economy to avoid deflation.

That is, during a recession when there’s a threat of deflation, the government should just drop bales of money on the population to help prevent a depression.

The primary threat facing the economy right now isn’t deflation, and quantitative easing isn’t exactly a helicopter drop, but it is, in the words of critics, a sugar rush.

If the problem with our economy were simply insufficient aggregate demand, sugar would be nutritious food, but it’s not. Short term interest rates are already low, and the Fed risks pushing long-term rates low enough that people will simply start keeping their money under the mattress. Not only is the Fed’s monetization likely to be ineffective, it’s likely to result in economic stagnation.

The Fed is not producing “as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at no cost.” There is a very real cost. Our fiscal situation is a disaster, inflation is pressing onto the economy, and business costs are set to rise. This will have a negative impact on jobs, and real wages will decline. This open-ended quantitative easing will make the situation worse and worse.

If the Fed were to drop millions of carats of diamonds from helicopters, diamond rings would be found in cereal boxes, not jewelry stores. If the streets were paved with gold, gold would be as cheap as asphalt. If we continue to dump massive amounts of money into the economy, money will be worth less than the paper (or electrons) it’s printed on.

The stock market responded to QE3 with enthusiasm. A big reason for that is that this signals Bernanke’s determination to keep interest rates low (close to zero). With bond returns in the basement, investors have no place to go but stocks.

Sugar rushes always end in a crash. Everyone knows that QE3 is a stop-gap measure. Bernanke considers it necessary because President Obama’s economic policies aren’t working to break us out of a sluggish jobs market and the slowest recovery in memory.

But neither did QE1 and QE2. QE3 will fail.

Its purpose is to put money into the hands of lenders, then small businesses, but business owners realize that the bill on our current economic policies will be coming due sooner rather than later, and they’re not likely to run out and borrow money with the uncertainties of the Affordable Care Act, the debt ceiling, and tax hikes (only for the wealthy, but that, oddly enough, includes a lot of small businesses) looming ahead.

Eventually Bernanke or his successor will have to change course. The money supply will have to be reduced, interest rates will rise, and investors will flee from stocks into bonds. As the stock market declines, the fizzy, buoyant feeling from the wealth effect created by the rising market will go as flat as last week’s champagne. As you and other Americans see your wealth decline, you’ll cut back on major purchases, and the economy will take another body blow.

Bernanke is a very, very smart man, and he knows better than most of us what’s at stake here. Why, then, this economic bandaid? Cynics argue that he’s caved to pressure from Democrats like Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) to give Obama enough breathing room for reelection.

Stagnation is fine in six months, but not before November.

That explanation is too dismissive of Bernanke, whose history gives plenty of evidence that he’s both honest and is reacting in a way he sees as correct. More likely, he sees economic disaster ahead, and he’s simply run out of tools he can use to stop it. Like anyone else in serious trouble and without options, he’s kicking the can down the road, hoping against hope that a miracle will come along before disaster strikes.

That this might help Obama and the Democrats is just a side effect, not the goal of the policy. Anyway, given the lack of success of QE1 and QE2, the policy may not give the Democrats as large a boost as they expect.

The truth is that both Obama and Bernanke are running out of options. A $16 trillion debt has left the federal government with no fiscal flexibility at all, and the Fed’s usual tools to manipulate money through interest rates are useless with those rates close to zero. QE3 isn’t a new hope for the economy; it’s a clear sign of desperation.

After the sugar rush wears off, then what? Bernanke will be left with nothing. That thought should give everyone in Washington pause. If they were rational, it might even prompt some serious thinking outside the current stimulus-QE-bailout box before that box turns into a prison, but the odds on that look worse by the day.

Read more: Helicopter Bernanke’s economy influx of money will rescue Obama, not you, here’s why | Washington Times Communities Follow us: @wtcommunities on Twitter

Read more: Helicopter Bernanke’s economy influx of money will rescue Obama, not you, here’s why | Washington Times Communities

Peter Schiff’s take on QE3: Operation Screw! The Fed goes All-In! (Got Operation Weimar FreeFall?)

The geniuses at the Federal Reserve have concocted a bold new plan to revive the U.S. economy — print a bunch of money, loan it to Americans at super low interest rates so they can speculate on rising real estate prices, extract the appreciated equity and spend it on consumer goods. In other words, build an economy of real estate, by real estate, and for real estate. The only problem is we’ve been there and done that. The last time it almost destroyed the U.S.economy. I guess almost isn’t quite good enough for the Fed, so now it’s determined to finish the job.

These actions will destroy Americans’ savings and hurt people on fixed incomes. To protect yourself, I recommend a strategy of foreign equities, commodities, and gold and silver. To buy gold and silver, contact my company Euro Pacific Precious Metals at 888-GOLD-160, or visit http://www.europacmetals.com. For your stock portfolio, contact my brokerage firm Euro Pacific Capital at 888-727-7922, or visit http://www.europac.net. …”

http://www.dailypaul.com/254886/peter-schiffs-take-on-qe3-operation-screw-the-fed-goes-all-in-how-about-operation-weimar-freefall

Background Articles and Videos

Quantitative Easing Explained

Ben Bernanke Press Conference and Comments on QE3

Money, Banking & The Federal Reserve

The Creature From Jekyll Island (by G. Edward Griffin)

97% Owned – Monetary Reform documentary – Directors Cut

The Money Masters ~ Full Movie

The Secret of Oz – Winner, Best Docu of 2010 v.1.09.11

This version finally cuts several bogus quotes which have festered in the monetary reform literature for decades.
The world economy is doomed to spiral downwards until we do 2 things: outlaw government borrowing; 2. outlaw fractional reserve lending. Banks should only be allowed to lend out money they actually have and nations do not have to run up a “National Debt”. Remember: It’s not what backs the money, it’s who controls its quantity.

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of The World by Niall Ferguson Epsd. 1-5 (Full Documentary)

Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it’s the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it’s the chains of labor. But in The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. What’s more, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history.

Through Ferguson’s expert lens familiar historical landmarks appear in a new and sharper financial focus. Suddenly, the civilization of the Renaissance looks very different: a boom in the market for art and architecture made possible when Italian bankers adopted Arabic mathematics. The rise of the Dutch republic is reinterpreted as the triumph of the world’s first modern bond market over insolvent Habsburg absolutism. And the origins of the French Revolution are traced back to a stock market bubble caused by a convicted Scot murderer.

With the clarity and verve for which he is known, Ferguson elucidates key financial institutions and concepts by showing where they came from. What is money? What do banks do? What’s the difference between a stock and a bond? Why buy insurance or real estate? And what exactly does a hedge fund do?

This is history for the present. Ferguson travels to post-Katrina New Orleans to ask why the free market can’t provide adequate protection against catastrophe. He delves into the origins of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Perhaps most important, The Ascent of Money documents how a new financial revolution is propelling the world’s biggest countries, India and China, from poverty to wealth in the space of a single generation—an economic transformation unprecedented in human history.

Yet the central lesson of the financial history is that sooner or later every bubble bursts—sooner or later the bearish sellers outnumber the bullish buyers, sooner or later greed flips into fear. And that’s why, whether you’re scraping by or rolling in it, there’s never been a better time to understand the ascent of money.

Related Posts On Pronk Pops

Pronk Pops Show 88, October 7, 2012: Segment 0: Obama’s October Surprise–Loses Debate and Unbelievable Jobs Report–873,000 New Jobs As Total Unemployment Rate U-6 Remains Unchanged At 14.7% and Official Unemployment Rate U-3 Declines To 7.8%–Same Rate As When Obama Took Office–Video

Pronk Pops Show 88, October 7, 2012: Segment 1: 2012 First Presidential Debate–Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney–Denver, Colorado, October 3, 2012–Romney Clearly Won–Videos

Pronk Pops Show 88, October 7, 2012: Segment 2: Obama’s 11 Million Jobs Gap And 43 Months of Above 8% Unemployment Rates–Recovery In 2020?–Videos

Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )

Series Id:           LNS13327709 

Seasonally Adjusted 
Series title:        (seas) Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers 
                      plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of all civilian labor force
                      plus all marginally attached workers 
Labor force status:  Aggregated totals unemployed 
Type of data:        Percent or rate 
Age:                 16 years and over 
Percent/rates:       Unemployed and mrg attached and pt for econ reas as percent of labor force 
                     plus marg attached

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed                   USDL-12-1981
until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, October 5, 2012

Technical information:
 Household data:       (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
 Establishment data:   (202) 691-6555  *  cesinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/ces

Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

                    THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- SEPTEMBER 2012

The unemployment rate decreased to 7.8 percent in September, and total nonfarm 
payroll employment rose by 114,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 
today. Employment increased in health care and in transportation and warehousing 
but changed little in most other major industries.

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to 7.8 percent in September. 
For the first 8 months of the year, the rate held within a narrow range of 8.1 
and 8.3 percent. The number of unemployed persons, at 12.1 million, decreased by 
456,000 in September. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.3 percent), 
adult women (7.0 percent), and whites (7.0 percent) declined over the month. 
The unemployment rates for teenagers (23.7 percent), blacks (13.4 percent), and 
Hispanics (9.9 percent) were little changed. The jobless rate for Asians, at 
4.8 percent (not seasonally adjusted), fell over the year. (See tables A-1, A-2, 
and A-3.)

In September, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs 
decreased by 468,000 to 6.5 million. (See table A-11.)

The number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks declined by 302,000 over 
the month to 2.5 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 
27 weeks or more) was little changed at 4.8 million and accounted for 40.1 
percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

Total employment rose by 873,000 in September, following 3 months of little 
change. The employment-population ratio increased by 0.4 percentage point to 
58.7 percent, after edging down in the prior 2 months. The overall trend in 
the employment-population ratio for this year has been flat. The civilian labor 
force rose by 418,000 to 155.1 million in September, while the labor force 
participation rate was little changed at 63.6 percent. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes 
referred to as involuntary part-time workers) rose from 8.0 million in August 
to 8.6 million in September. These individuals were working part time because 
their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time 
job. (See table A-8.)

In September, 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, 
essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally 
adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were 
available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. 
They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work 
in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 802,000 discouraged workers in 
September, a decline of 235,000 from a year earlier. (These data are not 
seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking 
for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 
1.7 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in September had 
not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such 
as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 114,000 in September. In 2012, 
employment growth has averaged 146,000 per month, compared with an average 
monthly gain of 153,000 in 2011. In September, employment rose in health care 
and in transportation and warehousing. (See table B-1.)

Health care added 44,000 jobs in September. Job gains continued in ambulatory 
health care services (+30,000) and hospitals (+8,000). Over the past year, 
employment in health care has risen by 295,000.

In September, employment increased by 17,000 in transportation and warehousing. 
Within the industry, there were job gains in transit and ground passenger 
transportation (+9,000) and in warehousing and storage (+4,000).

Employment in financial activities edged up in September (+13,000), reflecting 
modest job growth in credit intermediation (+6,000) and real estate (+7,000).

Manufacturing employment edged down in September (-16,000). On net, manufacturing 
employment has been unchanged since April. In September, job losses occurred 
in computer and electronic products (-6,000) and in printing and related 
activities (-3,000).

Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, construction, 
wholesale trade, retail trade, information, professional and business services, 
leisure and hospitality, and government, showed little change over the month.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 
0.1 hour to 34.5 hours in September. The manufacturing workweek edged up by 
0.1 hour to 40.6 hours, and factory overtime was unchanged at 3.2 hours. 
The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private 
nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm 
payrolls rose by 7 cents to $23.58. Over the past 12 months, average hourly 
earnings have risen by 1.8 percent. In September, average hourly earnings of 
private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 5 cents 
to $19.81. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised from 
+141,000 to +181,000, and the change for August was revised from +96,000 to 
+142,000.

____________
The Employment Situation for October is scheduled to be released on
Friday, November 2, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htmEmployment Situation Summary Table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted