U.S. banks to make $38 billion from overdraft fees: report

I have noticed this in my own bank PNC. If in the same day you use your ATM card for $300 and in the morning deposit $500 they do all the debits first. If the debits bring your account below 0, they will hit you for a $35 fee for each transaction you make after that, even though you deposited $500 cash that morning. Even if you use your ATM card to buy a $1.50 cup of coffee you are charged $35 even though you deposited $500 cash in the morning! They only credit your account late in the day trapping you and causing $100s of dollars in overdraft fees. This is robbing the public pure and simple.-Lou

(Reuters) - Banks in the United States are poised to make $38.5 billion in customer overdraft fees this year, the Financial Times said, citing research by Moebs Services.
A large portion of the revenue is likely to come from the most financially stretched consumers, according to the paper.

It said the research showed that many banks have increased charges on overdrafts and credit cards in order to boost profits.

The median bank overdraft fee rose this year by one dollar to $26, the paper said, citing the Moebs data.

"Banks are returning to a fee-driven model and overdraft fees are the mother lode," Mike Moebs, the company's founder was quoted by the paper as saying.

Overdraft fees accounted for more than 75 percent of service fees charged on customer deposits, the paper cited Moebs as saying.

Last year the U.S. Federal Reserve approved credit card rules to curb "unfair" practices such as surprise fees and interest rate hikes, and new mortgage lending rules are expected this summer. It is also mulling rules to give bank customers the chance to opt out of overdraft schemes that can involve fees.

Time to Do Your Healthcare Homework

With all the uproar, rumours dis-information out there regarding the health care overhaul, I thought I would give you a link to the entire bill as well as some articles to get you started. I, for one, do not think a massive overhaul of the finest health care system in the world is warranted. Some changes to bring down costs (tort reform, which is nowhere in the bill) access to insurance for the poor and the unemployed are necessary but not the massive government takeover now being proposed.

One of my radio listeners sent me this summary of the health care bill. I have not check them all but have checked a few and they were accurate although open to broad interpretation (meaning the courts get involved) You can check them for yourself.

Here Is A Link To The Healthcare Bill


Little gems from the Health Care Bill

• Page 16: States that if you have insurance at the time of the bill becoming law and change, you will be required to take a similar plan. If that is not available, you will be required to take the gov option!

• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!

• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!

• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)

• Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.

• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.

• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.

• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer

• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (example: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)

• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange. • Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)

• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens

• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.

• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.

• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.

• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.

• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.

• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families. • Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll

• Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll

• Page 167: Any individual who doesn't have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.

• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).

• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.

• Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that.

• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected."

• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what speciality you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)

• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.

• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.

• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.

• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!

• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.

• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.

• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited from owning and investing in healthcare companies!

• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.

• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.

• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.

• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.

• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.

• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).

• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?

• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.

• Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.

• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.

• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.

• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.

• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.

• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.

• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.

• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services

Obamacare=Rationing and Waiting

The Obama Administration is trotting out more "experts" this week to try to save a healthcare bill that is becoming more and more unpopular with the American people. This news out of The White House today:

Today the White House is rolling out a new website that focuses on what reform really means for you and your family, debunks some common myths along the way and provides you with online tools and content to share the facts with friends, family and anyone else in your social network.

The first set of videos addresses a wide scope of topics and debunks some of those common myths:

CEA Chair Christina Romer details how health insurance reform will impact small businesses. Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes tackles a nasty rumor about euthanasia and clearly describes how reform helps families. Matt Flavin, the White House's Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy, clears the air about Veteran's benefits. Kavita Patel, M.D., a doctor serving in the White House's Office of Public Engagement, explains that health care rationing is happening right now and how reform gives control back to patients and doctors.

Robert Kocher, M.D., a doctor serving on the National Economic Council, debunks the myth that health insurance reform will be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. In a video first released last week, Linda Douglass from the White House Health Reform Office addresses fears about the end of our private insurance system and reiterates that if you like your current plan you can keep it. There is also a handy FAQ about health insurance reform.

This is nothing more than propaganda and lies to influence public opinion that is quickly eroding. Why is public opinion eroding you ask? Because people now have time to read the bill (that's why they wanted desparatly to pass it before the August recess). It's available for anyone to read. I suggest you read some of it.-Lou

Here is the entire bill: Heath Care Bill

The Truth About Obama's Health Care Plan

Posted on Friday at Heartland.org is my new comprehensive study: The Obama Health Plan: Rationing, Higher Taxes, and Lower Quality Care. The study explains in full detail, based on the pending Congressional legislation, exactly how the Obama health plan would impose government rationing that will deny you health care, severely restrict your freedom of choice and control over your health care, raise, not lower, health costs, impose sharp tax increases that would leave America uncompetitive in the world economy, and increase federal spending, deficits and debt.

The rationing begins with the dominant public option government health insurance plan, which is authorized in the legislation to follow the practices of Medicare and Medicaid in sharply underpaying doctors and hospitals. Medicare pays doctors 20% below market rates, and hospitals 30% below market. Medicaid pays 30% to 40% less than Medicare.

This power to underpay medical bills is the most important reason the government public option health insurance plan will eventually drive out the private competitors, leaving you without the choice of keeping your current insurance plan. Any private plans that do manage to survive will be able to do so only by adopting the practice of paying only what the government plan pays. So the government will end up dictating all payments to health providers in any event.

Doctors and hospitals will consequently begin to restrict their care to fit what the government will pay. Their practices will shrink to avoid the more expensive medical services and treatments that the government payments will not sufficiently cover.

These underpayment practices in turn will have dramatic, powerful effects on investment in the health care industry. Investors are not going to finance acquisition of the latest, most advanced equipment and technologies with the government slashing compensation for the services such technologies provide. Investors are also not going to finance expanded or new hospital facilities or clinics, or even the full maintenance of existing ones.

The supply of doctors, surgeons and specialists will also decline, just when demand for their services is soaring under the Obama health plan giveaways. Obama repeatedly says that under his health reform plan if you like your doctor you will be able to keep him or her. But the real question is whether under his reform plan your doctor will be willing to keep you, when the government refuses to pay adequately for the health care services you want and need.

This is how the long waiting lines for diagnostics, surgery, and other referrals begin to develop. This is why in other countries with national health plans or socialized medicine, facilities seem old, aged, and deteriorated.

Vast new realms of possible, innovative, new health services and care opened up by modern science will lag unutilized. Drug companies will also cut back sharply on investment in new, cutting edge, restorative, painsaving, or lifesaving miracle drugs. Many people will suffer or die unnecessarily as a result.

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Debt Limit Should Be Raised: Geithner

Why don't they just make the debt limit $ 50 trillion? That's where the national debt is ultimately going. It's a joke to put a limit on debt to only lift the "limit" when you get close to it. Look at the debt clock on the right sidebar. Look how quickly it goes up. The dollar will be devalued and inflation will be unleashed.-Lou

Geithner asks Congress for higher U.S. debt limit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner formally requested that Congress raise the $12.1 trillion statutory debt limit on Friday, saying that it could be breached as early as mid-October.

"It is critically important that Congress act before the limit is reached so that citizens and investors here and around the world can remain confident that the United States will always meet its obligations," Geithner said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that was obtained by Reuters.

A Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter.

Treasury officials earlier this week said that the debt limit, last raised in February when the $787 billion economic stimulus legislation was passed, would be hit sometime in the October-December quarter. Geithner's letter said the breach could be two weeks into that period, just as the 2010 fiscal year is getting underway.

The latest request comes as the Treasury is ramping up borrowing to unprecedented levels to fund stimulus and financial bailout programs and cope with a deep recession that has devastated tax revenues.

It is expected to issue net new debt of as much as $2 trillion in the 2009 fiscal year ended September 30 and up to $1.6 trillion in the 2010 fiscal year, according to bond dealer forecasts.

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Bank Failure Friday Claims 3 More Banks

Only three banks failed this week, bringing the year total to 72. FDIC should be close to running out of insurance funds soon. Rumors of a big bank failure coming soon are circulating. This bank failure would surely wipe out FDIC forcing it to go to Congress for the first of many taxpayer funded bailouts.-Lou

U.S. bank failures rise to 72 in 2009
Regulators seize three banks in Florida and Oregon

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Regulators on Friday shut three banks in Florida and Oregon, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures to 72 for the year.

Florida regulators closed Community National Bank of Sarasota County in Venice, Fla., and First State Bank of Sarasota, Fla. Stearns Bank, N.A., of St. Cloud, Minn., will assume the deposits of both failed banks.

The failures bring the state's 2009 total to six.

Home Federal Bank of Nampa, Idaho, will buy all deposits of the failed Community First Bank of Prineville, Ore.

Bank failures have surged this year as a lingering recession and rising unemployment leaves the industry nursing heavy loan losses.

More than 1,000 banks may fail during the next three to five years, analysts at RBC Capital Markets estimated in February. See story on future bank failures.

Florida lenders have been particularly prone to failure this year, reflecting the surplus of unsold condos and other real estate in the Sunshine State. See Miami's Vise.

First State had $463 million in assets and deposits of about $387 million at the end of May.
Stearns Bank is assuming most of First State's deposits and agreed to buy roughly $451 million of the failed bank's assets, the FDIC said after the markets closed.

About $8 million of brokered deposits won't be assumed by Stearns. Instead, the FDIC said it will pay brokers directly for those funds, so customers who put savings with these brokers should contact them directly.

Stearns and the FDIC will share losses on about $364 million of the assets, the regulator noted. The closure of First State will cost the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund $116 million, according to regulators.

Community National had $97 million in assets and deposits of roughly $93 million at the end of May.

Stearns agreed to pay the FDIC a premium of 0.25% to assume all of Community National's deposits. Stearns is also buying $94 million of the failed bank's assets.

Stearns and the FDIC will share losses on roughly $79 million of Community National's assets. The closure will cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $24 million, the regulator estimated.

Community First Bank had total assets of $209 million as of July 5, and total deposits of about $182 million. In addition to assuming all deposits of Community First Bank, Home Federal Bank will buy about $197 million of assets, the FDIC said.

The FDIC will also share losses on about $155 million of Community First's assets. The cost to the insurance fund will be $45 million, the FDIC estimated.

Birth Death Model Fudges Employment Report

Employment Number Is Pure Propaganda

by Lou Scatigna
August 8, 2009

Yesterday the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that a smaller than expected 247,000 jobs were lost in July. The pundits on financial TV and the main stream media hailed this as a wonderful development and signs that the worst of the recession was over. The stock market rejoiced as well closing up over 100 points at the highest level of the year.

I have been telling my radio audience and you as well for months that the government fudges every economic number they can to make things look better. The one they distort (lie about) the most is the employment report. How do they do this you ask? They instituted in 2001 the birth/death model. No it has nothing to do with people dying or being born, it has to do with an estimate of how many small businesses were being formed (or closed) and the estimated jobs that were created as a result. This is where the BLS does it's dirty work.

Let's take a deeper look into July's jobs report:

The headline number is 247,000 jobs lost which in other times would be a disaster but since it was averaging over 600,000 this spring it is hailed as an improvement and the coming of economic prosperity for all.

Historically July's B/D model is negative as it is a month were past over estimates are reconciled. This July number is the largest in the history of the series. Do you mean to tell me that in the midst of the worst economic environment in 70 years the most jobs were created by small businesses in any July in the history of the report? How could more jobs be created this July than in July 2006 when the economy was robust and growing? It simply did not happen but the BLS just decided to say so and presto the July jobs number is better than expected and the Administration can come out and say the stimulus is working and the recession is over. All praise to the king!

It is safe to say if the accurate number for birth/death was used it would have added at least a 100,000 more to the job loss number. Since Jauary the B/D model has added 879,000 jobs to the report. So in the worst 6 months since the Great Depression small businesses have created a whopping 879,000 phantom jobs. This is a big lie and the government knows it. Every week we see initial claims for unemployment in the range of 325-425,000. Every month we see the jobs report showing an average of 400,000 jobs lost since January so how could small business be thriving in that environment? It simply didn't but hey let's just make it up the sheeple won't even look that deep.

Now let's turn to the unemployment rate. The administration and their media minions had an orgasm over the fact that the unemployment rate dipped from 9.5 to 9.4%...whoopie! The recession is over, it's the first time the unemployment rate has dropped since April 2008. Man that Obama is one great steward of the economy.

How does the unemployment rate drop in July when every week the number of workers filing for unemployment run an average of 350,000 and (the even distorted) 247,000 jobs were lost in July? By the way, if over 800,000 workers filed first time claims for unemployment, how come they announced only 247,000 jobs lost, I have never been able to figure that one out. Were there 553,000 jobs created to offset the 800,000 lost (of course not)?

Anyway, back to the unemployment rate. How did the rate drop with all these first time unemployment filings and quarter million lost jobs according to the BLS? Simple the BLS decided that 637,000 workers became discouraged in July therefore they are not considered unemployed, just people not interested in finding a job. Abbracabra! The unemployment rate drops from 9.5 to 9.4% and the recession becomes a faded memory. The media was all hot and bothered by this figure touting the Administration's "things are getting better" mantra. So you can see that the government can make the employment report look anyway they like, it has become a political tool to be used to make the Administration look good and influence the President's popularity numbers which have been diving as of late.

This is also known as propaganda, this Administration is a master of it.

I know many people who are looking for a job and there are none to be had. If they are fortunate to get one it is a low paying or part time one.

Be careful making investment decisions based on government reported economic numbers most are distorted or worse yet pure fiction.

Fed Bought Half Of Last Week's 7 Yr Treasury Auction

It looks like the Fed pulled a fast one during last week's 7 year Treasury Auction. The Fed is now in total debt monetization mode. The dollar is doomed. This is unbelievable news.-Lou

From The Market Ticker:

The upshot: The Fed bought nearly half of LAST WEEK'S 7 year Treasury Issuance TODAY.
Huh? Remember, after the 5 year auction that went badly (and which I wrote about) the 7yr auction went "well." Rick Santelli (and a lot of other people) agreed - demand was strong. That made no sense to me at the time, coming one day after a near-failure in the 5 year.

Well now we know what happened: The Fed pretty clearly pre-arranged, either explicitly or by "suggestion", that the Primary Dealers take up the auction with the promise that The Fed would immediately monetize half what the Primary Dealer's took!

Folks, this is beyond bad - it is pernicious and outrageous conduct by The Federal Reserve in conspiracy with the Primary Dealers, both of which are now desperately trying to prop up the US Government Bond Market through subterfuge rather than just buying up the bond issue from Treasury when originally put to the market!

If you think the economy and credit markets are "on the mend" why would The Fed do something like this? It would not be necessary unless The Fed was told (by those very same Primary Dealers) that they were going to be unable or unwilling to take down any more Treasury Debt.

Folks, let me be clear: The United States HAS OFFICIALLY HIT THE TREASURY DEBT WALL and The Fed and Treasury are engaged in subterfuge and conspiracy in an attempt to hide this from the market.

There is no other explanation for what just happened.
None.

When it sinks in to the market's consciousness - we had two failed Treasury Auctions last week, both 5 and 7 year, yet we intend to try to borrow ANOTHER $400 billion next quarter and nearly $100 billion this coming week - the consequences could be extremely severe.

LINK

Protests Against Healthcare Reform Getting Hot

This is happening all over the country as ordinary Americans see their freedoms slipping away. I said in my 2009 Financial and Economic forecast (can be read on right sidebar) that their will be large protests in Washington this year. By year-end I expect that we will see massive protests as the average people finally stand up to a government bent on taking the country socialist.-Lou

AARP Turns Against Retirees

Watch the way AARP treats it's members who are against health care reform. Why would any retiree be a member of AARP when they are anti-senior. Protests like this are erupting all over the country. The people are finally standing up to government taking away our freedom. I better be careful or I may wind up on the White House Enemies list.-Lou

Bizarro World

Isn't this a strange turn of events. Republicans back an income limit of $50,000  for the next leg of "Cash for Clunkers" and the Democrats want unlimited income. I guess the UAW benefits out rank class warfare, too funny.-Lou

Clunkers' Program Hits a Speed Bump

ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: The effort to inject another two billion dollars into Cash for Clunkers has hit a potential road block in the Senate that could kill the bill.

Republiicans are throwing their support behind an amendment offered by Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, that would limit clunker rebates to individuals with annual incomes of 50 K or less. With Republican support the amendment stands a good chance of passing unless the majority of Democrats, who mostly favor the amendment, vote against it.

Why is that a problem?

If any amendment passes it means the House has to take up the bill again and the House, of course, has already adjourned for its August recess.

The Democratic leadership is now scrambling to get rank- and -fille Democratic senators to vote against an amendment almost all of them favor. It would be a very tough vote.

"It does seem to be out of character for Democrats to support allowing millionaires access to borrowed money to buy cars," said Don Stewart,  spokesnan for Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

34 Million On Food Stamps

What a sad state of affairs. More and more middle class families are relying on food stamps to feed their family. But no worries they say the economy is improving.-Lou

US food stamp list tops 34 million for first time

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For the first time, more than 34 million Americans received food stamps, which help poor people buy groceries, government figures said on Thursday, a sign of the longest and one of the deepest recessions since the Great Depression

Enrollment surged by 2 percent to reach a record 34.4 million people, or one in nine Americans, in May, the latest month for which figures are available.

It was the sixth month in a row that enrollment set a record. Every state recorded a gain in participation from April. Florida had the largest increase at 4.2 percent.
Food stamp enrollment is highest during times of economic stress. The U.S. unemployment rate of 9.5 percent is the highest in 26 years.

Average benefit was $133.65 in May per person. The economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year included a temporary increase in food stamp benefits of $80 a month for a family of four.

Food stamp enrollment
Month Total

May 34.409 million

April 33.758 million

March 33.157 million

February 32.556 million

January 32.205 million

December 2008 31.784 million

November 2008 31.097 million

October 2008 31.050 million

September 2008 31.586 million

With almost half of all mortgages "underwater" there is no way the housing market or the economy will improve. The first half of 2009 will see a large wave of ARM interest rate increases which will cause further carnage to housing.-Lou

‘Underwater’ Mortgages to Hit 48%, Deutsche Bank

Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Almost half of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage are likely to owe more than their properties are worth before the housing recession ends, Deutsche Bank AG said.
The percentage of “underwater” loans may rise to 48 percent, or 25 million homes, as prices drop through the first quarter of 2011, Karen Weaver and Ying Shen, analysts in New York at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a report today.

As of March 31, the share of homes mortgaged for more than their value was 26 percent, or about 14 million properties, according to Deutsche Bank. Further deterioration will depress consumer spending and boost defaults by borrowers who face unemployment, divorce, disability or other financial challenges, the securitization analysts said.

“Borrowers may also ‘ruthlessly’ or strategically default even without such life events,” they wrote.

Seven markets in states with the fastest appreciation during the five-year housing boom -- including Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida; Merced and Modesto, California; and Las Vegas -- may find 90 percent of borrowers underwater, according to the report.

The share of borrowers owing more than 125 percent of their property’s value will increase to 28 percent from 13 percent, according to Weaver and Shen.
Home prices will decline another 14 percent on average, the analysts wrote.

"The Financial Physician" Radio Show Goes National

I'm excited to announce that "The Financial Physician" radio program will go national on Sunday August 30th. The show will air Sundays on Sirius/XM satellite radio at 6PM ET. The show can will air on Talk Channel 165 following Glenn Beck. I will continue to do my local show here at The Jersey Shore Sunday's at 11AM ET. I will also archive the national show on this website. The website is being re-designed as we speak and should be up and running by months end.-Lou

Why Are Stocks Up When Everything Is SO Bad?

Here is an interesting article detailing why and how the markets are rising when the real economy is crashing.-Lou

The Real Economy Versus the Make-Believe World of the Government and Financial Giants

In the real economy, unemployment is at Depression-era levels (see this, this and this).

In the real economy, bank loan loss rates will be higher than the Depression.

In the real economy, government revenue is at its lowest level since the Depression, and most states are on the verge of bankruptcy.

In the real economy, the world economy is crashing faster than during the Depression (and see this).

But in the make-believe world of the government and the financial giants, the recession is over.
How do they do it?

Well, as I noted a couple of days ago, the boys use:

High-frequency trading, program trading-based frontrunning, and other computer-based manipulation of the markets
Creation and manipulation of bubbles
The Plunge Protection Team
Intervention in the gold, currency markets, and bond markets
Bear raids, naked short selling, and credit default swap holders driving companies into bankruptcy

In addition:

Years ago, the government reporting some basic economic indicators like M3, and moved away from real economic indicators like U-6 unemployment and inflation and substituted economic indicators like "U-3" and "core inflation" to cover up what is really happening

Normal accounting and reporting rules have been suspended, so that companies can pretend that worthless derivatives, CDOs, subprime mortgages and other "toxic assets" are worth perhaps time times more than they are really worth. Indeed, as of 2006, "President George W. Bush has bestowed on his intelligence czar ... broad authority, in the name of national security, to excuse publicly traded companies from their usual accounting and securities-disclosure obligations." One or more treasury department officials also actively allowed banks to "cook their books"

Bernanke is apparently almost single-handedly responsible (using the Fed's network of primary dealers) for the current rise in the stock market

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