Stocks started the week with some selling but things turned around by Thursday morning; moving almost straight up after the Philly Fed Report which actually came in much weaker than expected. Investors saw this as a sign that the Fed will be less likely to taper their quantitative easing program any time soon as badRead… Read more »
We saw a breakdown in the stock market on Thursday that seemed to be a topping turning point. That is until we got the October jobs report on Friday morning and investors did an about face and bought on this news. The stock indexes improved their technical picture but they are not out of theRead… Read more »
Stocks were mixed last week in front of the uncertainty of this Monday’s deadline for a continuing resolution to fund the government. Considering what is at stake, the market held up rather well, but as our TSP Talk Plus members saw this week, a shutdown hasn’t always been a bad thing for the market. HereRead… Read more »
Stocks rallied sharply on Wednesday last week, after the Fed announced no tapering to their bond buying policy at this time . The bulls loved it, as you can see on the chart below, but we saw the indices give back some of the gains on Thursday and Friday. Here are the weekly, monthly, andRead… Read more »
Stocks were relatively flat on Friday but it was a wild day to end the week. The jobs report was a disappointment with over 10,000 fewer jobs being created in August than was expected, and there were also downward revisions made to both June and July’s report. The good news is, the unemployment rate droppedRead… Read more »
With the recent confirmation of the first federal Chief Performance Officer (CPO), Jeffrey Zients, a sprig of hope has emerged among the performance management and improvement crowd. The appointment marks the first time that a seasoned performance improvement leader has been selected to provide structure, vision and real, accountable results. Every administration has had aRead… Read more »
Information on recovery.gov recently reported that the Department of Agriculture was paying $1.2 million for 2 pounds of frozen ham. In fact the contract in question actually purchased 760,000 pounds of ham for $1.191 million for food banks and homeless shelters. In response to misstated information the board overseeing recovery.gov refused to correct the informationRead… Read more »
* $2.5 million for sliced ham in California * $800,000 for a new, clean-air garbage truck in Phoenix * $1.4 million to repair the door of a building in San Antonio * $350,000 to replace and upgrade a dumbwaiter in Brooklyn These are examples of projects that have been reported on recovery.org as stimulus projects.Read… Read more »
In a recent survey completed by Government Executive Magazine’s research arm, the Government Business Council, data revealed that only 66% of government managers who were aware of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) anticipated meeting or exceeding the expectations of the funding program. At the same time, only 11% of respondents of the surveyRead… Read more »
As pundits debate the effectiveness of the stimulus package, a new study released by the Government Business Council (GBC) says that agencies feel “overwhelmed” and “anxious” about the ability to successfully implement designed programs. These concerns reflect the current reality of an economy that continues to falter, with a rising unemployment rate, expected to exceedRead… Read more »