Consumer Confidence PLUMMETS 10 points from June report

Consumer Confidence

This is a TERRIBLE REPORT!! It's down almost 10 points from the previous report, which is equivalent to falling off a cliff.

It's ALSO the lowest level for the year, and a full 3 points lower than the PREVIOUS LOW in April. In fact, it's the lowest since August, 2009!!

What will next month's report look like? I suggest it will be even lower.

And if that wasn't bad enough, ECRI economic data has ALSO PLUNGED to within .02% of previous levels that have clearly predicted a recession. That's where the fear of a "double-dip" is gaining ground.. And a DD recession is just a politically correct way of saying "DEPRESSION".

ECRI Growth to -9.8%

It's clear.. "Joe Six Pack" is feeling the pain of prolonged unemployment, loss of unemployment benefits, and increasing foreclosures. Small businesses, who make up a large percentage of the US economy, are not hiring at nearly the rates necessary to bring down unemployment. They are hampered in obtaining credit, while "Big Business" is hoarding cash.

So while we're in the midst of earnings seasons, the market is a forward projecting mechanism. It's all well and good that the last quarter may have been good for profits, but what is Corporate America going to do for an encore?

There's a reason corporations are hoarding cash and why banks are not lending. They see more economic downside in the future and they are preparing their "war chest" in order to survive and take advantage of it.

Banks are hoarding cash so they can appear to be the strongest contender for taking over any insolvent competitors that the FDIC takes down. Why extend risky loans against depreciating collateral to grow their business when they can wait for their insolvent competitors to go belly up and then take over their branch offices as well as all their depositors. They know FDIC will pick up the bad loans.

This is killing small businesss...

As for the market read... I'm short via Ultra-Bear ETFs, and will remain that way for the foreseeable future based upon this plunge in consumer confidence, as well as expectations for even worse in the next report.

And now I'm worried about another "Flash Crash" as well. This market is thinly traded and if no one but the computers are buying stock, we're in serious trouble going forward.

But Goldman Sachs would apparently disagree with me. They assert that the S&P is still going to 1300 by the end of the year. I'm not sure what fundamental data they are basing this on, but it certainly can't be on Consumer Confidence data:

S&P going to 1300?

Feds with nothing better to do than raid private entrepreneurial farms

Here's an article where the government's assault on small business impacts even the small time farmer's markets and small farmers:

Feds raid "food clubs"

Now I don't know about you, but I like raw milk. I used to work at a dairy lab owned by some family friends when I was younger and they would receive raw milk from local dairymen.. It's awesome!! And it's the way our parents, and grandparents drank raw milk prior to homogenizing, and pasteurization. Our forebears also ate free-range chickens as well as their eggs. My Aunt use to have her own hen house and the eggs were always fresh.

I find this rather shocking that Law Enforcement has the resources to conduct these raids on agricultural entrepreneurs, but can't manage to deal with illegal immigration. If some of these clubs are not in compliance with regulations, they should work with them to achieve proper compliance, not conduct these ridiculous and treating them as if they were major crimes.

Scrutinizer