U.S. jobless claims hit more than one-year high; import prices rise | Reuters

U.S. jobless claims hit more than one-year high; import prices rise | Reuters: "Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000 for the week ended May 7, the highest level since late February 2015, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast initial claims slipping to 270,000 in the latest week.

"Jobless claims have moved sharply higher in recent weeks, reinforcing concerns that labor market conditions have softened in response to the slowdown in the economy in recent months," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

There was a surge last week in unadjusted jobless claims in New York state, likely as some striking Verizon (VZ.N) workers filed for unemployment benefits. Unadjusted claims also rose in Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Despite the jump last week, claims have remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with healthy job market conditions, for 62 consecutive weeks, the longest stretch since 1973. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased 10,250 to 268,250 last week, the highest level in almost three months.

The claims report came on the heels of data last week showing nonfarm payrolls increased only 160,000 in April, the smallest gain in seven months, after advancing by 208,000 in March. The signs of labor market weakness suggest the Fed is unlikely to raise interest rates before the end of the year."



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Social Security: Why Congress is messing with your benefits—commentary

Social Security: Why Congress is messing with your benefits—commentary: "The new law also forces spouses who were not 62 before Jan. 2, 2016 to file for their retirement benefit when they file for their spousal benefit. Since Social Security won't pay two benefits at once, this means such spouses simply get the larger of the two benefits (i.e., they lose one of the two). Spouses as well as divorced spouses (who were married for 10 or more years) who reached 62 by Jan. 2 can still collect just their spousal or divorced spousal benefit between 66 and 70 and then take their own retirement benefit at 70.

The new law was passed in the dead of night and rushed to a vote with no public hearings let alone congressional debate — this despite the fact that millions of households, most of which are low-and middle-income, were having their retirement plans upended."



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This Is Where America's Runaway Inflation Is Hiding | Zero Hedge

This Is Where America's Runaway Inflation Is Hiding | Zero Hedge: "Which brings us to the one chart showing where the "missing" runaway inflation in the US is hiding: if one shows the annual increase in asking rents, what one gets is the following stunning chart which shows that while rent inflation had been roughly in the 1-2% corridor for two decades, starting in 2013 something snapped, and rent inflation for some 43 million Americans has exploded and is currently printing at a blended four quarter average rate of just over 8%, the highest on record, and 4 times higher than Yellen's inflationary target."



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Obama Admits Couldn't "Convince Americans Of Recovery", Bashes 'The Big Short' | Zero Hedge

Obama Admits Couldn't "Convince Americans Of Recovery", Bashes 'The Big Short' | Zero Hedge: "Reflecting on his economic legacy, President Barack Obama disputes the conclusion in “The Big Short” movie that nothing changed on Wall Street after the 2008 economic meltdown, and maintains that his policies have helped stabilize the financial sector.
 "

Perhaps the following nine charts will provide a little more color as just what "saving the world" looks like for President Obama (red shaded section is his 'reign') and why the American public just would not fall for his now-admitted bullshit...

But that's not all, in his New York Times' diatribe, President Obama takes further aim at more fiction-peddlers - those of "The Big Short"...as Bloomberg reports,

Reflecting on his economic legacy, President Barack Obama disputes the conclusion in “The Big Short” movie that nothing changed on Wall Street after the 2008 economic meltdown, and maintains that his policies have helped stabilize the financial sector.

...Obama bemoaned his fractious relationship with Wall Street, said finance is absorbing more science and engineering talent than it should, and speculated he might have gone into business if not politics. But he has little patience for criticism from business leaders.

“One of the constants that I’ve had to deal with over the last few years is folks on Wall Street complaining, even as the stock market went from in the 6,000s to 16,000 or 17,000,” he said, referring to the rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average during his administration.

“They’d be constantly complaining about our economic policies. That’s not rooted in anything they’re experiencing; it has to do with ideology and their aggravations about higher taxes.”

In the Dodd-Frank legislation to overhaul the financial system, Obama sees a major shift in how Wall Street is regulated. He takes issue with Hollywood’s version, reflected in the 2015 film “The Big Short,” which suggested that little has changed on Wall Street. The movie was based on the 2010 best-seller of the same name by Michael Lewis.

“There is no doubt that the financial system is substantially more stable,” Obama said, adding, “It is true that we have not dismantled the financial system, and in that sense, Bernie Sanders’s critique is correct.”

Yeah looks like you really showed them!!

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'Investors' Panic-Buy S&P At Open - Erases All BoJ Cliff-Dive Losses | Zero Hedge

'Investors' Panic-Buy S&P At Open - Erases All BoJ Cliff-Dive Losses | Zero Hedge: "It appears Facebook Ads trumps trillions from Kuroda... for now..."

Well that un-escalated quickly...

It appears Facebook Ads trumps trillions from Kuroda... for now...

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2.607 Days Later, The "Most Hated Bull Market Ever" Is Now The Second Longest In History | Zero Hedge

2.607 Days Later, The "Most Hated Bull Market Ever" Is Now The Second Longest In History | Zero Hedge: "And it only took $14 trillion in central bank liquidity, a global, coordinated central bank "put", central banks purchases of Treasuries, MBS, ETFs and corporate bonds,  and nearly 700 rate cuts in the past 7 years to achieve it."



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The ‘Trump Effect’ is contaminating our kids — and could resonate for years - The Washington Post

The ‘Trump Effect’ is contaminating our kids — and could resonate for years - The Washington Post: "Think we’re in for a disastrous four years if Donald Trump is elected president?

You’re being optimistic. Given what some of our children are learning from him, it may take an entire generation to recover from the hateful rhetoric he has aimed at immigrants, Muslims and Blacks Lives Matter protesters.

Trump’s vitriol is making it off the campaign trail and into the lingua franca of children at an alarming rate. Just watch coverage from Trump rallies to hear the next phrases kids will be slinging at school."



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