Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Home Building Up 15% in the United States


I don't know about the rest of the world, but home building in the United States is up 15%, according to data released this morning. Builders in the U.S. started new homes at an annual rate of 872,000 homes last month. They also filed new permits an an annual pace of 894,000, up 11.6% from the 801,000 rate the previous month. Perhaps the United States is the only country in the world on such a fast pace, but at least in America, both readings are the best since the summer of 2008, when things began to fall apart due to the Iraq War which caused a spike in gas prices that crippled families and businesses alike and led to massive foreclosures, a meltdown in the financial markets, and put the United States on the brink of collapse.
Sportsman's Guide: Military Surplus save up to 70%

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Obama Floors Romney

This was a much different, and, truth be told, a better debate than the first one.  Unlike that first debate, President Barack Obama didn't allow misstatements and untruths told by challenger Mitt Romney go unchallenged.  And on the final response of the night, Obama floored Romney by using his own words against him.  

What is incredible is that Romney walked right into it; he served up a big fat softball underhand, and Obama knocked it out of the stadium.  Romney himself brought up the topic when he said that he cared about 100% of the population.  All Obama had to do at that point was remind debate watchers that Romney was the one who said 47% of the country (veterans, students, and retired people) were lazy and did not pay enough taxes.  It was an easy task, but one that had to be made.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Retails Sales Up 1.1%

Retail sales in the United States bumped up 1.1%, showing continued improvement before the all-import Christmas season.  That has led stocks higher initially, although the stock market has been bothered since Mitt Romney won the first presidential debate.  Since that time, the Dow Jones has plummeted nearly 300 points.  A strong showing by President Barack Obama in the second debate this week could reverse that trend, however.