HOUSE REPUBLICANS LINE UP FOR FREE ANNUAL PHYSICALS BEFORE DEFUNDING OBAMACARE

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HOUSE REPUBLICANS LINE UP FOR FREE ANNUAL PHYSICALS BEFORE DEFUNDING OBAMACARE

By Andy Borowitz

September 20 — Saying that they needed to be in peak physical condition for their looming effort to defund Obamacare, over a hundred House Republicans lined up for their free annual physicals today.

The physicals, part of Congress’s government-subsidized health-care package, yielded good news for many of the House G.O.P., who learned that they were strong and healthy enough for the demanding task of defunding Obamacare.

“My blood pressure was lower than I thought it would be,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). “That’s amazing, because it goes through the roof whenever I think about how Obamacare would destroy America.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia)—whose free annual physical included an examination of his heart, lungs, ears, eyes, throat, and blood—said that his doctor proclaimed him in perfect physical condition: “He said I should be able to live a long, healthy life and defund Obamacare for many years to come.”

Rep. Cantor added that he had lost a few pounds since last year’s free annual physical, as he headed to lunch before defunding food stamps.

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Fed guys talking

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Not tapering and all that goes with that can be called their push back vs higher mtg rates, in that tapering would have signaled they were ok with the higher rates.

A close ally of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Dudley highlighted the drags from the sharp recent rise in longer-term interest rates, higher taxes and lower public spending adopted earlier this year, and questions over the U.S. debt limit and government funding as Congress meets this autumn.

Dudley also said the Fed could “wait a long time” to raise interest rates once the unemployment rate hits a 6.5 percent threshold.

Atlanta Fed boss Dennis Lockhart said the labor market still needed a spark to continue its recovery, Dow Jones reported.

“We see a picture in which fewer firms are expanding employment, and each expanding firm is adding fewer new jobs on average than in the past,” Lockhart said, according to a report, adding that the “employment dynamics of the U.S. economy are slower.”

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Realtors negative on home sales

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Home sales ‘last hurrah’ for next 12 months

By Diana Olick

September 1 (Bloomberg) — U.S. home sales in August rose to their highest level in six years, even higher than during the recent home buyer tax credit. This news came on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it would continue to fuel the mortgage market, keeping rates from rising dramatically. Still, Realtors were uncharacteristically pessimistic in their predictions for sales this fall.

“We are getting early signals from lock boxes that show a significant change in direction in August,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, referring to the small key boxes that hang on the doors of for-sale homes. The number of times they were opened in August dropped dramatically, signaling a big drop in potential buyer traffic.

Yun claimed the jump in August sales was based on fear of rising rates. August numbers are based on closings for contracts that were likely signed in June. June saw the biggest spike in mortgage interest rates.

“That hurried people into making a decision,” said Yun. “It was the last hurrah for the next 12 to 18 months.”

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Debt ceiling

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Remember, unlike just a tax hike or spending cut, hitting the debt ceiling means going cold turkey to a balanced budget, which is catastrophic as it eliminates the automatic stabilizers and triggers a downward spiral that, if left to continue, could take maybe 25% off of GDP in 90 days, and still be accelerating downward.

Boehner: We’ll win the fight to defund Obamacare

September 19 (Reuters) — U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said he was confident that majority Republicans in the chamber would pass a stop-gap U.S. funding measure on Friday that denies money for “Obamacare” health insurance reforms.

At a news conference on Thursday, Boehner also said Republicans had “no interest” in defaulting on U.S. debt in the looming debate over raising the U.S. debt limit.

“We will deliver a big victory in the House tomorrow, and then this fight will move over to the Senate where it belongs. I expect my Senate colleagues to be up for the battle,” Boehner said.

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Japan Exports Rise Most Since ’10 in Boost for Abe Effort – Bloomberg

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Not helping US domestic demand…

Japan Export Gains Offer Growth Momentum as Sales-Tax Rise Looms

By Andy Sharp & Toru Fujioka

September 19 (Bloomberg) — Japan’s exports rose the most since 2010 in August, boosting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s growth drive even as rising energy costs extended the streak of trade deficits to the longest since 1980.

Exports rose 14.7 percent from a year earlier, the sixth straight advance, a Finance Ministry report showed in Tokyo, in line with the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The trade gap was 960.3 billion yen ($9.8 billion).

A surge in exports to the U.S., along with a rebound in shipments to China in the wake of bilateral tensions last year, are offering momentum to Japan as it prepares for the first sales-tax increase since 1997. Rising competitiveness from the yen’s 20 percent drop against the dollar the past year also has helped manufacturers including Panasonic Corp. (6752) as they cope with higher energy costs with the nation’s nuclear industry shuttered.

“We are finally seeing a clear recovery in exports, led by a weak yen and a moderate global recovery,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute Co. in Tokyo. “My biggest concern is the planned sales-tax increase next year. A recovery in exports will help cushion the impact but a higher levy could still be a big drag on the economy, while risks remain in Europe and emerging markets.”

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