Unemployment claims rise 10000, Private sector job adds fewer than expected, First quarter economy growth revised downward, Change and no hope

“And we can see the positive impacts right here at Solyndra. Less than a year ago, we were standing on what was an empty lot.But through the Recovery Act, this company received a loan to expand its operations. This new factory is the result of those loans.”…Barack Obama

“One could make the argument that Pritzker was the most important person in Barack Obama’s presidential bid – except, perhaps, for Obama himself. A longtime Obama friend, Pritzker was national finance chairwoman for the Obama campaign throughout his 2008 presidential effort. She helped him raise a record $750 million from a dizzying array of donors.
Obama’s huge fundraising advantage not only gave him clout during the primaries against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), but also provided the means to bypass federal funding for the general election and dramatically outspend Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)…Washington Post 

“Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama says he’ll crack down on fraudulent sub-prime lenders. If he really means it he can start by firing his campaign finance chair, Penny Pritzker. Before taking over Obama’s campaign finances, she headed up the borderline shady and failed Superior Bank. It collapsed in 2002. The bank’s sordid story and its abominable role in fueling the sub-prime crisis are well known and documented. It engaged in deceptive and faulty lending, questionable accounting practices, and charged hidden fees. It did it with the sleepy-eyed see-no-evil oversight of federal. It made thousands of dubious loans to mostly poor, strapped homeowners. A disproportionate number of them were minority.

Obama’s home state, Illinois, ranked near the top of thee states in the percentage of sub-prime mortgages. Nearly 15 percent of home loans were sub-prime according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. But that only tells part of the tale. According to the Woodstock Institute, a Chicago non-profit that studies housing issues, the sub-prime fall-out was far higher in the predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods of South and Southwest Chicago.

The predictable happened when many of those lost their homes. When the bank collapsed Pritzker and bank officials skipped away with their profits and reputations intact. Aside from the financial and personal misery sub prime lenders caused the thousands of distressed homeowners, sub-prime lending has been a major cause of the housing crisis in many areas, and has dealt a sledgehammer blow to the economy. Obama has said nothing about Pritzker, Superior Bank, or their dubious practices.”…Huffington Post, February 29, 2008

We got the change Obama promised and no hope as long as he stays in office.

From the US Labor Dept. May 31, 2012.

“In the week ending May 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 383,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 373,000. The 4-week moving average was 374,500, an increase of 3,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 370,750.”

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/eta20121072.htm

From Zachs Investment Research May 31, 2012.

“For the second month in a row, the monthly jobs report from Automatic Data Processing (ADP – Snapshot Report) missed expectations. Since the ADP report tries to preview the monthly labor market report from the government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), this morning’s disappointing read does not bode well for tomorrow’s BLS report. For May, the ADP report is showing private-sector jobs of 133K, below expectations of 154K (according to Bloomberg). The tally for April was modestly revised downwards to 113K (from 119K). The expectation for private sector jobs in Friday’s BLS report is for 164K.”

http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/76139/ahead-of-wall-street-may-31-2012

From Bloomberg Business Week May 31, 2012.

“U.S. Economy Q1 Growth Revised Downward”

“The U.S. economy grew more slowly in the first quarter than previously estimated, reflecting smaller gains in inventories and bigger government cutbacks.

Gross domestic product climbed at a 1.9 percent annual rate from January through March, down from a 2.2 percent prior estimate, revised Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The report also showed corporate profits rose at the slowest pace in more than three years and smaller wage gains at the end of 2011.”

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-31/economy-in-u-dot-s-dot-grew-less-in-first-quarter-than-last-estimated?r=bloomberg