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Truck Cancellations Hit Two-Year High as Rebound Slows- Bloomberg.

Peterbilt for sale-orders have slowed for new equipment

Another sign that the “recovery” is not all it’s been cracked up to be. From the article:

While profits have increased at Echo Global Logistics Inc. (ECHO) as the Chicago-based arranger of freight shipments takes market share and boosts rates, freight demand shows an economy that’s “still soft,” Chief Executive Officer Doug Waggoner said.

The economy is “recovering, but a lot less so than you would hope,” Waggoner said in a telephone interview. “We’re still stagnating.”

SEO, Social Networking and Other Crap I Don’t Have Time to Worry About : The Other McCain.

This must explain why most of my spam e-mails mention this “SEO” thing. I really would like to have a “digital strategy”, or any strategy, for that matter.

As if we needed more evidence that the current administration is utterly ignorant of the reality of the global energy situation, and its effect on average Americans. Please follow the link and read the article.

Buffett’s Bank of America | Washington Free Beacon.

Warren Buffett’s investment in the Obama administration seems to be paying dividends.

Major S.A. dealership suddenly shuts down|WOAI: San Antonio News.

This is evidently one of the Dodge dealers that the Obama administration allowed to stay open, while it forced others to close. This is the direct result of politicians making political decisions to reward friends and favored constituencies, and to punish perceived enemies.

Analyst: Even Dollar Stores Struggling In ‘Obama Depression’ « CBS Los Angeles.

How bad must the economy be if even the dollar stores are struggling? As the CEO of Wal-Mart stated in April, “our shoppers are running out of money.”

Immelt to jobs summit: Businesses need to do more – Jul. 11, 2011.

This is easy for Jeff Immelt to say. General Electric is the most politically favored corporation in America, having paid no income tax in 2010 despite earning $14.1 billion in profits. GE also stands to beneift from legislation (going into effect in 2012 in the U.S.), that will effectively ban the inexpensive and ubiquitous incandescent lightbulb in American homes and businesses. At $3.77 per bulb for GE CFL’s versus $0.27 for the old school incandescents, it is fairly obvious that GE (as well as Phillips and other companies) should earn considerably more revenue from CFL’s.

Speaking of Jeff Immelt, is President Obama being ironic, or merely cynical, in naming Immelt the chairman of a committee intended to spur American job creation?

“Since Immelt took over in 2001, GE has shed 34,000 jobs in the U.S., according to its
most recent annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But it’s
added 25,000 jobs overseas.”

This Just In: Obamanomics Sucks : The Other McCain.

There is not much more to be said. The economy is in tatters. Of the 54,000 new private-sector jobs reported in May, over half were created by McDonald’s. If memory serves, wasn’t the term “McJobs” used to deride the service-sector job growth of the ’80′s? How we long for those days, when anyone who wanted a job could find one?

FT.com / Companies / Oil & Gas – Opec set for $1,000bn in export revenues.

It’s all part of the plan.

Payrolls Drop in 28 U.S. States, Joblessness Rises in 21 in Labor Setback – Bloomberg.

There is still no real reason to be optimistic about the economy, especially the job market. Add this to the other “unexpected” economic news: Consumer confidence dropped in December, and home prices dropped 1.3% from September to October.