What We Read Today 02 January 2014

Econintersect: Click Read more >> below graphic to see today’s list.

The top of today’s reading list is an expose about GMOs (genetically modified organisms) …….. and the tenth article is an update discussion of the unofficial Problem Bank List.  The bonus (11th article) is about the falling U.S. population growth rate.

• The Truth About GMOs (Pamela Ronald, Boston Review) There are also nine notable replies to the article.

• 83 Numbers From 2013 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe (Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse) Hat tip to Michael Haltman, The Political Commentator. The numbers seem to be correct as far as we have checked them but context could change the conclusion you might reach about some of them.

• Navy Dumped Thousands of Tons of Radioactive Waste Into the Atlantic Ocean (Washington’s Blog) Washington’s Blog has contributed to Global Economic Intersection. How do you think Japan is disposing/will dispose of Fukushima radiation? See GEI News for details about early consequences. A video from Washington’s Blog describes what was happening in the years after World War II.

• Labor Force Participation Gaps (U.S. vs. Canada) (David Andolfatto, MacroMania) Canada does not have the youth unemployment problem that exists in the U.S. See other graphs in the article. Canadian men overall and the U.S. have similar participation graphs, while Canadian women far “out-work” their U.S. counterparts.

• A behind-the-scenes look at the making of propaganda, the kind that paints the world we see (Fabius Maximus) Fabius Maximus has contributed to Global Economic Intersection. Much of what you read is pure proaganda.

• When Even Bloomberg Is Saying The TPP Is A Dangerous ‘Corporatist Power Grab’ That Everyone Should Avoid… (TechDirt.com)

• Joe Friday: “Commodities Working On a Breakout! What Moves Up With Them?” (Chris Kimble, Adivsor Perspectives dshort.com)

Click on chart for much larger complete chart at Advisor Perspectives dshort.com.

• China to aim for 7.5 percent growth in 2014 as exports recover (Kevin Yao, Reuters) Econintersect opinion: The longer Beijing postpones the required taper in GDP (required for rebalancing) the greater the probabilty of a crash. See also China to keep policy and growth steady in 2014, push reform for an article about China’s Impossible dream.

• Economic Illiterate Proposal: “Inflation Creates Jobs”; Inflation Economics 101 (Mike Shedlock, MISH’s Global Economic Trend Analysis)

• Unofficial Problem Bank list declines to 619 Institutions, Q4 Transition Matrix (Bill McBride, Calculated Risk) Since this list was started in 2009 219 banks have failed and 372 have seen “action terminated” (they became ‘healthy’ again). Of the 389 banks on the list when it started 07 August 2009, 81 are still there more than 4 years later, 123 have seen “action terminated” and 185 have failed, merged or been voluntarily liquidated. The total still on the list is far greater than what was normal before the Great Financial Crisis.

Click on graph for larger image.

BONUS

U.S. Population Grows At Slowest Rate Since The Great Depression (Jillian Berman, Huffington Post)

The U.S. population grew by just 0.72 percent in the year ended July 1, 2013, the Census Bureau reported Monday. That’s the slowest growth rate since 1937. Population growth has hovered at super-low levels for the past few years, according to William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan research organization. The trend is “troubling,” Frey said, and is due largely to the weak economy.

“This real sharp decline has to do with recession-related issues,” Frey said. “Fewer people come into the country because there aren’t as many jobs, and people are postponing child-bearing.”