JohnsBlog (articles, news, thoughts, advice)

Jobs report comes in as poorly as expected...unemployment up to the highest level in 4 years...this signal is further evidence of a slow down in the economy, and can be seen as the most poignant number pointing to the belief that we are, in fact, in a recession.

This report puts economists and the Fed, who was largely expected to raise interest rates sooner than later, in a difficult position.  They certainly cannot lower rates due to inflationary pressures that have weighed heavily on consumers recently, but they now feel pressure against raising interest rates due to the extreme slowdown in the economy...it's a tough situation and anyones guess what they'll do, but one things for certain...the way things are going, doing nothing is not an option. 

In one corner we have Senator Obama calling for an immediate stimulus package #2, giving people $500 to spend...however, I'm not sure this has a huge effect...the last stimulus check is now nearly forgotten, as many Americans used it to simply pay bills.  His plan on getting the funds for this check?  Windfall profits tax.  His opposition, McCain, argues taxation will surely force more jobs overseas...I tend to agree. 

Fortunately for the economy, we're seeing a nice reduction in gas prices.  If this continues we might see economic relief as the dollar will gain ground and inflation will slow down substantially.  I guess only time will tell if this being an election year has anything to do with the craziness...I just hope things arent being covered up until after the election...that's a scary, scary thought.

DELAWARE COMMUNITY BAND DAY

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23
12-6:00 PM
ACADEMY LAWN

The Diamond State Concert Band and the City of Newark are proud to announce the first Delaware Community Band Day. Five bands from the region, two Delaware and three Maryland bands, will perform in succession for more than five hours! Each community band is a volunteer organization comprised of 20-60 people of all ages who love to play music and perform for the public. You can expect to hear old favorites, big band and swing music, Broadway show tunes, movie scores, concert band classics, and patriotic songs. Come to hear the music, shop downtown Newark, and relish one of the final weekends of summer. This inaugural concert is made possible by the

Delaware Division of the Arts.

For more information, contact Dana Johnston at 366-7020.

Well last night was quite an interesting night in the Olympics.  First off, this is off topic of anything mortgage related, I just find these athletes, many of them extremely young, to be unbelievable. 

First I caught the women's gymnastics squad doing uneven bars, balance beam, and vault...all I can say about this, is I dont know how they train, because Im fairly sure any attempt at trying anything they do would surely result in a hospital visit for me!  They're amazing.

Next up was swimming....when I saw that the French stated they would smash the American team, because that's what they came to do, I was slightly surprised at the cliché portrayal of French arrogance...then when the competition ended, the Americans had a gold medal around their necks.  I was talking to a friend of mine about this, and he pointed me to www.google.com for a hilarious finding.  If you type in the search field "French military victories" and click the "Im feeling lucky" tab, the results are hilarious.  Nothing against the French culture, as I was a French minor in college and love the culture, language, and history, but this is just funny!

Anywho, hopefully the rest of the Olympics are entertaining, hopefully men's basketball can stop being a perennial disappointment and come home with gold, and hopefully Phelps can break the gold medal record (Im sure he feels the same way so he can cash in on his $1 million endorsement bonus from Speedo!).