Jim Rogers: Obama's Economic Disaster to get Worse

Now that Barack Obama has been re-elected President of the United States, billionaire commodity expert and investor Jim Rogers sees his disastrous economic policies as not only continuing, but making things much worse for Americans and the world in general.

More deficit spending means more economic problems for the United States asserts Rogers, who also says the global markets have probably already discounted the eventuality of a fiscal crisis in America.

Rogers has consistently stated that in 2013 and 2014 it's going to be very rough years for the United States economically.

"America is going to have a slowdown in 2013-14, there will be fewer jobs, more unemployment and turmoil in oil and currency markets," Rogers said.

Even so, Rogers says there is little doubt the so-called fiscal cliff in the country will get a quick fix by politicians, but in the end it'll make things even worse.

When queried about a possible downgrade of the economy of the United States, Rogers said it should have already been done in the minds of investors. "If you haven't downgraded America in your mind, you may do so," he concluded.

He sees no change in the practices of the Federal Reserve either, where he expects printing money out of thin air to continue as it has been.

Rogers sees hard assets as the place to be over the next ten years, with gold prices expected to continue to soar.

Along with his recommendation that investors get into agriculture, he also suggests metals as another strong place to put your money.

He has put his money where is mouth is, recently buying up agricultural land in Australia.

Jim Rogers on Obama Juicing Up Economy

Billionaire investor Jim Rogers recently said the American government is attempting to create an illusion the economy is improving in light of the upcoming elections.

Talking to India's Economic Times, Rogers stated, "You have the American government spending staggering amounts of money right now, printing a lot of money and getting ready for the election."

"You have to remember the election in America in November...they do their best to get the economy juiced up so they can win the election," he concluded.

The problem is this will be even more devastating economically after the elections, with the fallout of the increasing money supply sure to wreak havoc on the economy.

"2013 and 2014 are what I am most worried about because this year everybody is trying to just get through the next election...Everybody is going to do their best to get us through the election. Watch out for 2013," said Rogers.

Rogers says he continues to hold onto gold, and hopes it consolidates more before continuing its upwards price movement.

Bank of America (BAC) Talking 40,000 Job Cuts

As the disastrous Obama, Democrat economic recession continues on, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is talking about shrinking its work force by up to 40,000 jobs, according to the Wall Street Journal.

While talking 40,000 job cuts, the final figure isn't set in stone, and could be different than the unnamed sources cited.

Whatever the number is, the loss of jobs will happen over a period of years, said the Journal.

Bank of America has been under heavy pressure from shareholders to boost its performance, and with growth not in the cards, it looks like the time-proven cutting of costs is the route they're going to take.

The show the amount of pressure the company is under, it was just in the middle of August when Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan stated the giant bank was going to slash 3,500 jobs. To increase that by about 10 times that number reveals the extraordinary financial weakness of the bank.

It wasn't clear where the job cuts were going to be made, as far as geographically. The bank is getting together again today to make final decisions concerning the overall issue.

As for Obama and the Democrats, they continue to run the economy into the ground, as the failed party and president continue to offer up the tired old and anemic idea of just throwing money at the problem, something that hasn't worked, and won't work going forward either.

Obama refuses to take the bold and needed steps of cutting spending, and so continues to kick the can down the road until the nation falls financially apart.

The drunken spending spree needs to be stopped and fiscal responsibility and austerity implemented to represent the reality that socialism and progressivism has failed, and now we need to lower costs and taxes, something that will actually do something for the economy.

Limited government, or getting the government out of the way, is the medicine needed. Until that happens, the spending cancer and resultant consequences will continue to spread.

Berkshire's (BRK) Warren Buffett Losing Credibility in Twilight Years

Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE:BRK-A) Warren Buffett has gradually undermined his credibility over the last several years, possibly significantly weakening his legacy, as he has forgone his own advice and stepped outside his expertise and entered into the macro-economic fray, where he is far from an expert, and which he revealed himself as very politically partisan, ruining what had in general, been a more objective participation in the past.

Buffett has moved almost lockstep economically with Obama, support his Keynesian practices of printing money as the answer to all our economic ills. Buffett has also ridiculously called for higher taxation of the productive, using the tired old idea of everyone needing to pay their "fair" share, even though the wealthy pay far more in taxes than everyone else.

In the end, Buffett and Berkshire wildly benefit from big government and their intervention in the free market, and his inputs have been colored by that self-enhancement.

Warren Buffett years ago broke away from his father Howard Buffett economically, who supported liberty in the markets, and life in general, looking for much smaller government.

The worst offense, to me, with Warren Buffett, is his recent declaration the cut in the AAA credit rating in the U.S. was uncalled for, not noting Berkshire Hathaway is a major holder in S&P's competitor Moody's (NYSE:MCO).

You have to question Buffett's credibility or ability to think straight any longer, as to suggest that the U.S. is financially healthy and should continue to be rated AAA, suggests the loss of one or the other, maybe both.

Most people, even his economic detractors, have always had respect for Warren Buffett, who is fact is probably the greatest investor of all time. But to see him speaking as he has, points to either a loss of integrity or a weakening of his faculties. Either way, there is now a taint on Warren Buffett history will probably take note of, which hadn't been there in the past.

The bottom line is Warren Buffett is no longer an economic bellwether, and for whichever reason, can no longer be trusted as he has been in the past.

AAA Credit Rating of U.S. Slashed by Standard & Poor's

In an unprecedented move, Standard & Poor's slashed the AAA credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA-plus.

The refusal by the government to cut spending was citing as the reasoning behind the decision, which had been expected for some time.

While Obama touted and signed the deficit reduction bill recently, it was all smoke and mirrors, as the cuts were fake, only targeting additional spending that hasn't been implemented yet.

So when the legislation was signed, the appearance of $2.1 trillion in cuts over 10 years was only an illusion, as it relates to existing debt - because the cuts are for future spending - not current spending.

The S&P said they were looking for a minimum of $4 trillion in savings as the starting point to getting America's financial house in order.

Now U.S. Treasuries are considered to be less safe than countries like Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

The eventual fallout will be the boost in costs associated with borrowing. Not only for the government of the U.S., but for businesses and consumers as well.

Also of note will be the response of China and other countries holding significant amount of U.S. debt, which remains under a negative outlook from S&P, meaning there could be another downgrade within 12 to 18 months.

That would definitely be interesting as the presidential election approaches.

As usual, the Obama administration is trying to demonize what it perceives as its opponents, castigating S&P's research, saying their numbers are off by trillions. No Mr. President, it's your debt imposed on the U.S. people that is too high by trillions.

Gold could get a nice bump from this as the U.S. dollar should come under short-term pressure.

GE's (GE) Immelt Front Man for Obama

General Electric (NYSE:GE) CEO Jeffrey Immelt continues to lose credibility; increasingly so since being installed as Chairman of President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

In an attempt to cover up Obama's failed economic policies, Immelt said at a jobs summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "The people who are part of the business sector, the people in this room, have got to stop complaining about government and get some action underway. There's no excuse today for lack of leadership. The truth is we all need to be part of the solution."

What a strawman assertion.

In reality, the hundreds of billions in so-called stimulus has been an abject failure, and Obama has his man out there attempting to cover up his clueless policies and attempt to place the blame on businesses for the lack of hiring. As if they're supposed to hire in order to make Obama look good, no matter how bad it hurts their businesses.

There's only one reason in the world businesses don't hire, and that's because there is no reason to.

Businesses will either offer overtime to existing employees when they get new business that is temporary in nature, or higher when the new business appears to be long term.

So for Immelt to call for businesses to lead in job creation is an ignorant statement, but one that most readers don't understand, as far as how businesses interact with economic conditions.

Businesses do research in order to get the best available data to make these types of decisions. When the data gives them the go ahead, or long-term business is secured, businesses will higher accordingly. If not, they remain in a holding pattern, as they have for a long time.

It has nothing to do with leadership at all, but the realities of the current economic circumstances, and the socialist attitude and disposition of Obama, which is of course, anti-business.

Obama is all over the map concerning his policies, and you don't know who is going to show up on a given day. That leads to uncertainty over the near- and long-term future, and businesses won't make decisions to hire until there is more clarity.

A survey be the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that 30 percent of businesses weren't hiring because of economic uncertainty, and another 22 percent said weak sales was another reason.

Both of those ensure there will be no hiring anytime soon by businesses, and neither should they be if they are to survive.

Most businesses see the government policies of Obmaa as the major barrier to the economy improving, and see the need for changes in that regard if things are going to improve.

For Jeffrey Immelt to call for businesses to lead in hiring in the current economic environment is in reality a call for businesses to potentially sacrifice themselves to make Obama and the Democrats look good.

Immelt is lowering himself in the eyes of the business community, increasingly being looked upon as a shill for Obama, as he lectures businesses to stop complaining about him and his disastrous economic policies.

Business owners and managers agree, as Obamacare, too much regulation and uncertainty over Obama continue to be the major obstacles for about 40 percent of those who were surveyed.

The greatest hindrance to economic recovery and ending the deep recession is Obama and the Democrats. The solution is to vote them out of office.

Incredibly, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue, and Immelt called for Congress quickly agrees to raise the debt ceiling in order to remove that as an uncertainty.

To use the debt ceiling issue as the reason for uncertainty of businesses is bizarre at the least. Uncertainty has been rampant for several years, and the debt ceiling is irrelevant in that regard.

What Donohue and Immelt are doing is confirming they're in bed with Obama and the government, as the only reason to be concerned about that is because they are looking for more taxpayer handouts; something GE is among the leaders in the U.S. in.

There should be no raising of the debt ceiling, no new taxes, decreased regulation, cutting corporate taxes, along with spending. Those actions are what will boost the economy, not more government interference in the economy and crony capitalism.

For Immelt, it would be nice to see him become a businessman rather that someone bagging at the public trough and taking the attention away from failed policies of Obama and the Democrats.

Obama Clueless on Energy

The ridiculous conclusion of Barack Obama to ignore the huge amount of oil we still have in this country and off our coasts, and focus on the ignorant and anemic idea of developing the darling of the left and so-called environmentalists and their mainstream media allies: renewable energy, reveals he has no energy plan. As to focus on renewable energy is another way of saying he's forsaking the present, as renewable energy will probably never be able to meet the growing energy needs of the world, and definitely not in our lifetimes.

All the ignorant call for renewable energy does is attempt to make Obama look good to his political base, which has been abandoning him as he feebly attempts to move toward the center as the 2012 elections get close.

As for the high prices of oil and gas today, much of that has been brought upon us by Obama and his administration itself, as they refuse to rein in the Federal Reserve and force them to stop printing money, which is debasing the U.S. dollar and driving the price of commodities up, including oil and gas.

In an attempt to distract people from that reality, Obama announced the Justice Department is going to seek out cases where fraud or manipulation in the oil markets has driven up prices, even as his Attorney General Eric Holder says there are a number of legal reasons why gas and oil prices have gone up.

Obama said this in his weekly radio and Internet address, in reference to spending taxpayer dollars on renewable energy sources, "That's the key to helping families at the pump and reducing our dependence on foreign oil."

"Instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy sources, we need to invest in tomorrow's," he added.

There are several things wrong with this. First of all, our energy sources aren't yesterday,s, they're today's. Wasting taxpayer dollars on what will be at best a small supplemental addition to our energy supply will do nothing now, and little in the future, towards dealing with our energy needs.

Secondly, renewable energy, which while sounding good, isn't tomorrow's energy source. Experts across the board have concluded it will never meet the increasing energy needs of the world.

Finally, the key to lowering our depending on foreign oil is by digging our own, which is sitting wasting in the land and off our shores because of political correctness and the deceptive and false idea there is such a thing as global warming, which has been debunked everywhere as the climate has been cooling off for over a decade.

These are people who consider the earth their mother, or the equivalent of that, and find it outrageous that fossil fuels are being used, even though they reside in the earth.

This is why the global warming or climate change myth was created, in order to extract money from taxpayers in order to pursue a bogeyman that doesn't exist so the oil industry, and others, are weakened to the point of not being able to profitably drill for oil.

We depend on foreign oil because of the criminal laws that don't allow companies to continue to drill for the extraordinary amounts on American soil, including the proven reserves in Alaska.

Now we already have the environmental movement ramping up their lies and assertions about shale oil and gas, making it look like it'll be far worse than other types of extraction methods.

Why? Because there is so much available they're peak oil theories and realization natural gas could power America for an extraordinary long period of time, has them up in arms over the possibility pet projects, subsidies and pursuit of dubious alternative energy sources could come to a screeching halt.

Now you know why GE (GE) CEO Jeffrey Immelt was named to Obama's business committee, as he's been chasing these projects, more for the tax advantages and subsidies, than any real chance the wind turbines and solar panels will take care of our energy needs. That should be investigated thoroughly in light of the stakes we face.

Lawmakers need to get some courage and battle back against this immense waste of taxpayer dollars and time and start to tap into the energy resources we need now, not some type of wishful thinking in the future just because something is called "renewable." It may be renewable, but it's hardly a serious answer to energy issues.

Statoil (STO) 6th to Receive Gulf Drilling Permit Since BP (BP) Spill

Under enormous pressure because of dragging its feet for months on getting drilling in the Gulf of Mexico going again, the Obama administration is starting to finally award permits, with the latest being to Statoil (NYSE:STO), the sixth new Gulf drilling permit handed out since the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, according to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy.

Statoil's permit authorizes a new well to be drilled in Alaminos Canyon Block 810 in water 7,134 feet deep, about 216 miles off the Texas coast south of Texas City.

BOEM Director Michael Bromwich said, "This permit is the sixth we have approved since Feb. 17, when industry demonstrated it had the capacity to handle subsea blowouts and spills."

"Some say we are now proceeding too quickly; some say we are still proceeding too slowly. The truth is we are proceeding as quickly as our resources allow to approve permit applications that satisfy our rigorous safety and environmental standards."

In other words, the crisis in the Middle East underscores the need to drill for oil, and that more than anything else, is the reason the government is finally moving.

The rising price of oil and gasoline is the motivator behind all this, and it's more obvious that's the case because of the sudden drilling religion the Obama administration got.

If they had done the right thing and got the permitting process going quicker, the administration wouldn't be criticized for how allegedly "quickly" they're now issuing permits.

Statoil closed in New York Friday at $27.57, down $0.39, or 1.39 percent.

Chevron (CVX) Latest to Get Gulf Drilling Permit

There is no doubt the tension and unrest in the Middle East has forced the hand of the Obama administration to reward more permits to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, as they had been dragging their feet for months for no reason. Chevron (NYSE:CVX) was the latest to receive a permit to drill in the Gulf.

The federal government on Thursday approved Chevron Corp. for the first permit for completely new exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, saying the oil company had satisfied requirements to show that it could contain a subsea blowout.

It is the fifth deepwater permit since new standards were put in place after the Deepwater Horizon blowout and spill last year, but the first to drill in a new oil field.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement issued a revised permit to drill in 6,750 feet of water 216 miles south of Lafayette, La.

Chevron closed Thursday at $105.38, dropping $0.10, or 0.09 percent.





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GE (GE) Fighter Jet Engine Work will be Ordered to be Stopped

U.S. Defense Department will probably order General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Rolls Royce Group Plc. to stop working on the alternative engine the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Reports are the Pentagon’s acquisition chief, Ashton Carter, will issue the order Thursday for work on the engine to stop, according to industry and defense officials.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Obama have both opposed the project, rightly noting it was a waste of taxpayer money.

Hopefully the order to stop working on the engine will halt the alternative engine program, something that should have been done long ago.

General Electric closed Wednesday at $19.53, gaining $0.04, or 0.21 percent.

Shell (RDS-A) Gets Okay for Gulf Exploration Drilling

For the first time since the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, an oil company has been given approval to drill for natural gas or oil in the Gulf of Mexico, with the Interior Department giving Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) the go ahead.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, "This exploration plan meets the new standards for environmental review and marks another important step toward safer deepwater exploration."

Shell's exploration strategy is for its Auger field located about 130 miles off the Louisiana coastline, which it leases. They want to drill three exploratory wells in approximately 3,000 feet of water.

The Interior Department and the Obama administration have been under fire for dragging its feet on renewing or allowing new permits to give drillers the go ahead to continue drilling or begin new exploration, as in the case of Shell.

Royal Dutch Shell closed Monday at $70.87, up $1.00, or 1.43 percent.

GE (GE) CEO Says Middle East Unrest Needs to be Contained

General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt said global economic growth won't be affected by the crises in the Middle East if it can be contained.

Of course the opposite would also be true, as the impact could be devastating if events in that region of the world become even more contagious.

Immelt did say the U.S. economy and businesses would be helped by changes to regulatory and tax policy, although he didn't elaborate on details.

Being Obama's head of jobs and competitiveness council, a controversial position in light of GE's heavy reliance on government contracts.

Immelt sounded more like a politician than a businessman when saying there should also be more efforts to reform healthcare and education. Of course the first reform should be to repeal Obamacare.

General Electric closed at $20.63, gaining $0.25, or 1.21 percent.

GE's Immelt Becoming Obama's Mouthpiece? Sees No Inflation

The outcome of General Electric (NYSE:GE) Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt being named to head up an Obama-created business and labor panel was predictable, and the bizarre assertion he doesn't see core inflation at this time undermines Immelt even more. It's like he took it right from the notes of Obama's handlers.

Of course you can always use the term core inflation to bypass the very real inflation generated from high energy and food prices, which aren't included in the CPI.

So while they're soaring, the government, and now Obama mouthpiece Immelt, can parrot the same assertion.

Immelt said, "There's not a lot of core inflation even today and I would say in general the economy is getting better every day as a backdrop."

Sure it is Jeff. General Electric is probably entangled in more government contracts than any other company, or at least is way up there on the list. Immelt will consequently say whatever needs to be said in order to keep that going.

General Electric closed Thursday at $20.58, gaining $0.35, or 1.73 percent.

BP (BP) Moratorium Relief Fund to Pay Supply Workers

For the first time since the BP (NYSE:BP) moratorium relief fund was set up, supply worker to oil rigs will be eligible for economic relief.

The $100 million moratorium relief fund shouldn't to be confused with the $20 billion escrow fund of BP's administered by Kenneth Feinberg; they're two separate funds.

Supply workers are those who supply or support workers on the oil rigs.

The suppliers were devastated from the misguided Gulf oil moratorium put in place by Obama in response to the oil spill.

Approximately 9,000 workers may qualify for awards from the fund, with payouts from $3,000 to $30,000.

The fund is administered by the Gulf Coast Restoration & Protection Foundation, and claimants can file for relief online at www.RigReliefGrants.org or by calling 866.577.8141 beginning on March 15.

Parameters for successful filing are people had to be working on May 6, 2010 in direct support of a Gulf deepwater drilling rig to qualify.

Business Applauds Judge Striking Down Obamacare

A federal judge in Florida has ruled the extremely controversial forcing of healthcare on the American people by Obama, as unconstitutional, which resulted in applause from a number of quarters, including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which represents small business interests in America.

Karen Harned, the NFIB's executive director, said in a statement, "NFIB joined this case to protect the rights of small-business owners ... The individual mandate, which forces citizens to purchase government approved health insurance, undermines this core principle and gives the federal government entirely too much power."

Also supporting the decision by the federal judge was Republican House Speaker and majority leader John Boehner, who said, "Today's decision affirms the view, held by most of the states and a majority of the American people, that the federal government should not be in the business of forcing you to buy health insurance and punishing you if you don't."

This particular case if are more important than any before it, as over half the U.S. States were plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

States that were plaintiffs in the lawsuit included Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, Maine, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The vast majority of American continue to oppose the imposition of forced healthcare upon them, and want the law repealed.

At specific issue in this case was what has come to be identified as an individual mandate, which forces Americans to acquire healthcare by 2014 or be required to pay a penalty.

Vinson said on that count, "Regardless of how laudable its attempts may have been to accomplish these goals in passing the act, Congress must operate within the bounds established by the Constitution."

The U.S. House of Representatives voted in January to repeal the healthcare reform law, one of the major reasons they were swept into office in unprecedented levels. That and the endless spending by the Obama administration were two of the major catalysts, although there were many others.

Growing expectations are the healthcare law will finally be decided by the Supreme Court as to whether or not it's constitutional.

Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE) Gulf Permitting Delays Weigh on Company

The ongoing games played by the Obama administration in delaying permits to be awarded to drill in the Gulf, is increasingly weighing on companies like Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE), which has a strong exposure to the Gulf of Mexico.

Barclays says, "Permitting delays in the Gulf of Mexico persist. As a result, we are increasing assumed downtime for several Noble floaters. In addition, five of Noble's jackups recently left Mexico and will be stacked. However, Noble remains disciplined in stacking units and has been one of the more aggressive of the established contract drillers in the current rig construction cycle, both of which we believe are positive. One of the company's two recently announced drillship orders has an underlying contract supporting good economics. While 2011 may prove to be a difficult year for Noble, we believe the shares represent a decent value.

"We are reducing our 2011 EPS est. to $2.30 (from $3.55) and 2012 EPS est. to $4.30 (from $4.65), reflecting additional assumed downtime for the company's floaters and the cold-stacking of various older units. There may be additional downside to ests. given uncertainty in the GOM."

Barclays reiterates an "Overweight" rating on Noble Corporation (NE), which closed Monday at $37.63, dropping $0.01, or 0.03 percent. Barclays lowered their price target on Noble from $44 to $42.

Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO) Fleet Report Shows Staggered Status

The Obama oil moratorium and snail's pace of awarding permits in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill continues to negatively impact Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO), as their recent fleet status report shows.

FBR says, "Following Diamond’s recent fleet status report, we are adjusting our estimates to account for new contracts, mobilizations, and the situation in the GOM following the moratorium. We are also introducing quarterly estimates for 2011...We are simultaneously decreasing our estimates for 2011 and increasing those for years 2010 and 2012. Diamond has found short-term work for a few of its rigs that will drive greater profits through the end of the year. These contracts, however, in some cases have also forced the deferment of scheduled maintenance and mobilizations, which will now take place in 2011, driving earnings lower."

FBR Capital reiterates an "Underperform" rating on Diamond Offshore (DO), which closed Tuesday at $75.0, up $0.11, or 0.15 percent. FBR has a price target of $56 on Diamond.

Obama's Response to BP (NYSE:BP) Spill a National Disaster

The extraordinary hype surrounding the alleged extent of the damage done to the Gulf of Mexico by the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill has been found to be over-exaggerated, as has been the response of the Obama administration to the tragedy.

As Fox Business points out, it would be a huge mistake to continue on with the response of Obama to not allow drilling in the eastern portion of the Gulf or along the Atlantic coast until 2017.

The relatively low impact of the Gulf oil spill embarrassed radical scientists who were making doomsday predictions almost from day one, while attacking reports on the damage that weren't lining up with their wild projections.

What the Obama administration and the Interior Department are attempting to foolishly do is create a scenario of perfection which simply can't be attained.

If you get human beings and technology together, you can limit damage and improve practices and safety, but no one can achieve perfection.

To throw that on the drilling sector is part of the radical goal of extremist environmentalists who want to eliminate the use of oil altogether, among other elements of their anti-human agenda.

The bottom line is oil and energy companies need to do the absolute best to ensure safety, but even in the best of conditions there is always the human factor to take into account, and nothing in the world can make people into error-free workers.

Even with the photos of fowl with oil from the oil spill is nothing compared to the absolute destruction bats and birds receive from the so-called "clean" energy of windmill forests. They kill in a very short time more birds and bats than all the loss of wildlife from the BP oil spill.

The American people will be those who suffer from this, as our reliance on foreign oil and energy increases so the political fallout from another possible accident isn't incurred.

Response to the oil disaster by Obama is a bigger blow than the oil spill itself, other than for those who worship the earth and other religious connotations related to their "mother."

Some predict gas prices could reach as high as $5 a gallon by 2012.

Government Blasts CNN, Anderson Cooper Over BP (NYSE:BP) Reporting

In a well-prepared government report on the BP (NYSE:BP) Gulf of Mexico oil spill, CNN's Anderson Cooper was pointed out as manufacturing outrage from his strategy of pressing Parish leaders in Louisiana to search out angry people over the government's response to the disaster.

The report stated:

"Journalists encouraged state and local officials and residents to display their anger at the federal response, and offered coverage when they did. Anderson Cooper reportedly asked a Parish President to bring an angry, unemployed offshore oil worker on his show. When the Parish President could not promise the worker would be 'angry,' both were disinvited."

Cooper responded, giving this statement to the New York Post: "This unattributed statement is completely false . . . (the claim) that it was journalists who were encouraging residents and state and local leaders to ‘display their anger at the federal response’ is offensive.”

What's unique about this assertion from the government report is it goes beyond the typical sniping news organizations point at one another by coming from what was to be considered a serious statement from a formal and official report from the government.

When I said well-prepared report, that only alludes to the fact that it took about six months to put together, not that is was necessarily a well-done report.

This is also interesting because of the sometimes irresponsible stance by CNN concerning the Obama administration when it takes many steps contrary to the will of the majority of the American people.

It'll be interesting to see if the gloves finally come off with CNN and we begin to see some real reporting from them on the Obama administration, other than heaping underserved accolades on it.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Bought Economic Reporting Kool Aid

The reporting by the financial or economic press has been largely dismal, especially in relationship to the so-called recovery, as they circled the wagons around Obama. Unfortunately for Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) they drank the media kool aid, believing there was some type of recovery going on, and so focused on brand-name high-end consumer items which people couldn't afford.

Best Buy Chief Executive Brian Dunn said noted, "The newer technologies, like 3D and IPTV (Internet Protocol TV), which we assort more broadly than anyone, have been slower to take hold."

It's easy to see a lot of people being fooled by the reporting that we're in an economic recovery, but a CEO of a giant retail chain like Best Buy should know better.

Anybody that believes Americans are all ready to open their wallets like they did in the past are delusional, as the Best Buy fiasco shows.

Anyone understanding business at all knows people are bargain hunting, and even though November retail sales were reported as better-than-expected by the U.S. Commerce Department, the vast majority of that will be found to come from bargain hunters and stores that met their needs and pocketbooks.

Reporting that consumers in the United States were buying more is misleading as well, as they are buying more of less expensive items, not necessarily spending more money.

When retailers report their earnings, we'll find out revenue was generated by sacrificing margins. It's as simple as that.

A small few may escape that outcome, but the vast majority of retailers will have lower earnings next quarterly report.

The fact of the misguided implementation of another round of quantitative easing should have been a warning to everyone that the economy is still in a recession. Even Warren Buffett has admitted to this.

If the economy is doing so well, why is the Federal Reserve ready to throw another $600 billion into it in an attempt to give it a boost? The answer is obvious: the economy is still in a recession, and that will continue on for some time.

The point for Best Buy and their management, is how could they have made such a bad decision. They should have known the general and mainstream financial media was going to paint the most positive picture they could, picking out any tidbit that makes it look like a recovery.

Best Buy closed Tuesday at $35.52, down $6.18, or 14.82 percent. Volume was almost 10 times the 3-month daily average.