Economy might be gaining traction, new data suggest

[spanone]

After a spring and summer of weak economic indicators, a flurry of fresh data suggest key sectors of the economy might be gaining traction, just as the battle for the White House enters the final round.

The long-moribund housing market has bustled to life, with prices and new-home construction rising in recent weeks. Hiring, so weak earlier this year, picked up last month. And on Thursday, the government reported an acceleration of a downward trend in the number of people seeking unemployment insurance, as well as a sharp improvement in U.S. exports.

Together, the signs point to an improving economy, a potentially important shift for President Obama’s re-election campaign.

“The better the economy between now and November, the better it is for Democrats and Obama,” said Ray C. Fair, a Yale University professor who studies the relationship between economics and electoral outcomes.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/economy-might-be-gaining-traction-new-data-suggest/2012/08/09/23fadef8-e23a-11e1-98e7-89d659f9c106_print.html

[Geoff R. Casavant]

1. We'll see what the next five weeks brings.

After that, Congress comes back from vacation and the usual obstruction and sabotage will be back in vogue.

[Brother Buzz]

2. My extremely unscientific observation they economy is on an uptick

I have observed the freight trains are both longer and more frequent passing through my little Podunk town on the Ogden mainline.

[bhikkhu]

3. A decent economy during global problem-time is an achievement

...noting that Europe is tipping toward recession, hurting exports, and much of Asia is slowing down as well. I know the RW talking heads are unlikely to care, but to have the economy we have now is a very good sign.

In the event of a global rebound, we will be very well positioned, I think.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

4. There is going to be a rebound? How many manufacturing jobs have been transferred to foreign >

countries that will never return? How many manufacturers have shipped manufacturing jobs to foreign countries?

If there is going to be a rebound, where is it going to come from? The expanding prison industry? The privatization of public school systems? Where exactly?

In contrast, here's the let's-send-jobs-to-foreign-coutries "free-trade" agreements that have been signed so far:

1994 - NAFTA
2001 - Jordan – United States Free Trade Agreement
2004 - Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement
2004 - Chile - United States Free Trade Agreement
2004 - Singapore – United States Free Trade Agreement
2005 - Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA; incl. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic)
2006 - Bahrain – United States Free Trade Agreement
2006 - Morocco - United States Free Trade Agreement
2006 - Oman – United States Free Trade Agreement
2007 - Peru – United States Trade Promotion Agreement
2011 - Panama - United States Trade Promotion Agreement
2011 - Colombia - United States Trade Promotion Agreement
2011 - Republic of Korea (South Korea) - United States Free Trade Agreement

If the economy is now going to do so well that it is not going to be necessary to even fulfill the 2008 promise to renegotiate NAFTA, will it help to sign another let's-send-more-jobs-to-foreign-countries "free-trade" agreement? One is in the works.

Trans-Pacific negotiations have been taking place throughout the Obama presidency. The deal is strongly supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the top lobbying group for American corporations. Obama's Republican opponent in the 2012 presidential elections, Mitt Romney, has urged the U.S. to finalize the deal as soon as possible.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/obama-trade-document-leak_n_1592593.html

If anyone is going to provide opposition to the pending job-transferring "free-trade" agreement, it may be the Democratic Senators. It is not going to be the presidential candidates. This may be our last chance to influence and vote for Democratic Senators who might vote against the pending job-transferring "free-trade" agreement.

[Bonobo]

7. Don't worry.

By intentionally destroying the value of the dollar, I am sure manufacturing will make a comeback.

At an effective unemployment/underemployment rate of over 40% in the US, there are plenty of people that will be increasingly willing to work for non-living wages.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/125639/gallup-daily-workforce.aspx

[Raster]

5. Despite best efforts by the 1% and assorted racist bigots to collectively punish America for....

...electing - lawfully and legally, I might add - a person of color to the Presidency. Our current financial morrass and recession are republican creations, as are the two illegal and immoral wars of greed.

Despite President Obama's best efforts, the obstructionist republicans in Congress have done everything they can to sabotage Obama's Presidency, including creating and perpetuating massive hardship for Americans.

[Tarheel_Dem]

6. +1