Greek debt swap to succeed
Baku, March 9 (AZERTAC). Three years ago today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit its financial crisis intraday low of 6,440. Look for top Democrats to begin talking about how far we have come since then. The talking points will go something like this, per a top Dem: In the three years since hitting its crisis bottom, the Dow has doubled. By March 2009, household wealth had fallen to the lowest level reached during the recession - wiping out gains over the five years beforehand. Since then, households have rebuilt $8 trillion in net worth, an increase of over 15 percent. We still have not fully recovered from the damage that was done by the financial crisis - and jobs remain the top concern -- but this milestone seems important to note - especially as it undercuts the argument from those who say the President’s policies (i.e. Wall Street reform) have stifled growth.
After an unusually long wait, BLS February jobs report hits at 8:30 a.m. Consensus is for a gain of 210,000, a slight decline from the gain of 243,000 in January. The unemployment rate is not expected to change from 8.3 percent. But there is a wide-range of possibilities. Some gauges including the Philly Fed and ISM employment sub-indexes have been disappointing, suggesting the number could be soft.
On Friday, economists expect the government to report a 200,000-plus job gain for a third straight month. ... Another strong jobs report would be a welcome sign that the economy is further strengthening. But unless it exceeds expectations, it may not ignite a celebration.”
“For instance, administration officials in the past had said they didn’t want to bail out speculators or people who had taken on far too much debt. Now, under certain circumstances, the administration is willing to do both. ... The new actions come after waves of criticism from Democratic groups, community activists, lawmakers and economists, who have argued that the administration was far too slow to deal with the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression.”
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