**Picture courtesy of Ronnie Sunshines

Zero Hedge – Rosenberg Explains Why Yesterday’s ISM Was Likely Wrong, To Be Revised

Mercury News – Coast Guard: No oil sheen from Gulf explosion

Before It’s News – Gallup Poll Shows Consumer Spending Pullback, Consumer Confidence Levels Below Depressed 2009 Levels ; Back-to-School Sales Bust Says WSJ

Canada’s Housing Bubble – The GDP numbers are in and it’s clear Canada’s private sector has been free-riding on household and government spending efforts (90% of the article was dead-on, but then he got all keynesian and blew it)

The Woodpile Report – The report is so good this week that The Mayor basically took all Remus’s links and used them for Green Shoots

The Daily Bell – Bank Run 2011?

Global Economic Analysis – 10 Leading Retailers Close Stores; Exodus of Small Retailers Amidst Signs of “Free Rent”; 700,000 Drop Cable TV Subscriptions

Seeking Alpha – Stocks Climb With Indications the Bottom Isn’t Falling Out

Whiskey & Gunpowder - Bad day for stocks, Monday. A bad day. Not a terrible day. Not a crash day. Just a bad day. The Dow fell 140 points. This was baaaad…because it shows that the stock market does not really buy Bernanke’s storyline.

The Sacramento Bee - CoreLogic: 43.4% of Sacramento-area mortgages “underwater”

NY Slimes – Why Wall St. Is Deserting Obama

National Post – America’s Dark Days

Bloomberg – Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., the three largest sellers of autos in the U.S., reported bigger sales declines than analysts projected as the industry posted its worst August in 28 years.

Business Insider – Even Illegal Immigrants Are Giving Up On The US Economy

The Economist – Return of the boom?

The Economic Collapse – 30 Statistics That Prove The Elite Are Getting Richer, The Poor Are Getting Poorer And The Middle Class Is Being Destroyed

The Market Oracle – Warning Global Fiat Currency Financial System Collapse By Early 2011

Decline of the Empire – The Meaning Of Gettysburg

The Automatic Earth – Bubble case-studies – Ireland & Canada

CCPA – Canada’s housing bubble – an accident waiting to happen

Spiegel – The Dangers of Germany’s Dependence on China

Bloomberg – U.S. auto sales in August probably were the slowest for the month in 28 years as model-year closeout deals failed to entice consumers concerned the economy is worsening and they may lose their jobs.

The Daily Bell – Obama Admin Calls US Education Failure (the admin. is about to re-socialize education)

Business Insider – Bankrupt Miami in Fiscal Emergency, Breaks Employee Contracts, Hikes Property Taxes

Canadian Press – Canada’s economy slowed more than expected in the second quarter as consumers tightened their pocketbooks, housing weakened and exports were squeezed by the weak American economy.

Calculated Risk – The FDIC listed 829 banks with $403 billion in assets as “problem” banks in Q2, up from 775 banks in Q1 2010, but the total assets declined from $431 billion in assets in Q1 2010.

Neithercorp Press – Final Survival Preparations

The Market Oracle – A Culture of Fear Basis for American Foreign and Domestic Policy

Money & Markets – If Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke honestly believes what he said at Jackson Hole on Friday — that he can save the economy by printing more money and buying more bonds — he’s hallucinating.

My Budget 360 – How we lost 1.3 million households from 2008 to 2009. New Census figures show a large decrease in U.S. household count.

Lew Rockwell – On Tuesday the National Association of Realtors announced that existing home sales in the United States dropped a whopping 27.2% in the month of July. And things are only going to get worse.

World Net Daily – This is why there are no jobs in America

Financial Sense – Why We Are Totally Finished

Paul Mitchell – Glenn Beck, Al Sharpton, and the History of Racism

Zero Hedge – Personal Income Comes At 0.2%, Below Expectations; Spending Greater Then Expected; Savings Rate Declines

Dallas Fed - Texas factory activity was unchanged in August, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, came in at zero, posting a third consecutive month of little to no growth. Most other indexes for current activity remained negative in August. The new orders index stayed at –9, implying incoming orders continue to fall. The capacity utilization and shipments indexes pushed deeper into negative territory, suggesting further contraction of business (man, those green shoots are getting rather tall, aint they?)

Business Insider – Why Mosts Economists And Media Analysts Are Like Pigeons

Activist Post - Man Arrested For Holding “Impeach Obama” Sign (**This is going to make you sick)

American Banker – Procrastination on Foreclosures, Now ‘Blatant,’ May Backfire

VREAA – Two Charts: All You Need To Know About Canada’s Housing Bubble

Zero Hedge – Q2 GDP Revised Down To 1.6% From 2.4%, Beats Revised Expectations Of 1.4%

US News & World Report – The most fiscally irresponsible government in US history

Gonzalo Lira – Hyperinflation, Part II: What It Will Look Like

Decline of the Empire - The Obama Administration has been an utter failure. The President ran on the promise of Change We Can Believe In, and then served us a different flavor of Business-As-Usual. In offering us more of the same, Obama’s people failed to comprehend the biggest economic crisis since World War II. Our crumbling economy is the predictable result. Neglect, insincerity, mediocrity—these are the keywords describing their failure. Ultimately, it has been impoverished Imperial thinking that is turning America into a Third World Country.

 The Daily Bell – More Vaccination Questiones

Of Two Minds – Did the Roman Empire have corporations

Ass. Press – Ford is recalling 575,000 older model Windstar vans in the United States and Canada over concerns that the rear axles can corrode and potentially break.

The Atlantic – Home Prices May Drop Another 25%

Gallup – Muslims Give Obama Highest Job Approval; Mormons, Lowest

The Economic Collapse Blog – 10 Practical Steps That You Can Take To Insulate Yourself (At Least Somewhat) From The Coming Economic Collapse

Zero Hedge – Goldman On Claims: Surge In People Receiving Extended Or Emergency Benefits Offsets Positive News

Zero Hedge – The Great Deleveraging Lie

24/7 Wall St – Toyota Breaks Another One Million Cars–Will Fix Them

Business Insider – Google’s Calling And Texting From Gmail Is Ridiculously Awesome

Seeking Alpha – Gold Jewelry Demand Keeps Falling. Buyers Beware

Washington Post – Federal regulators say former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo personally approved mortgages for favored borrowers that violated the company’s policies and lending standards (say, didn’t Obama buy property at a discount rate from Mazilo? Say, didn’t Raines and James Johnson receive preferential treatment from Mozilo? Say, didn’t Dodd and Kent Conrad do very well via Countrywide, via Mozilo? Say, there seems to be quite a few liberals that have done quite well at the hands on one Anthony Mozilo, wouldn’t you say?)

Telegraph – Spain uses social security fund to prop up the bond market

MessNBC – One in 10 American households with a mortgage was at risk of foreclosure this summer as the government’s efforts to help have had little impact stemming the housing crisis.

Financial Sense -If you think State and local governments have financial problem now, just wait until they try and figure out budgets for 2012. 2010 was bad. The 2011 State and local budgets required the Feds to use a mini-QE of $26 billion (at this count but it’ll get bigger!) to keep teachers, policemen and firemen employed. There must not be anyone working for Lake County, where I live, except Teachers, Firemen and Policemen because I’ve never heard of anyone else. The mini-QE will be larger before budget time in 2011 comes around.

CNBC (spit) – Economy Caught in Depression, Not Recession: Rosenberg

The Daily Caller – The Poulan Weed-Eater consumption tax model  **TY J.M. Heinrichs

Zero Hedge – JPM Says “Disastrous” Durable Goods Number Sets Stage For Sub-1% Q3 GDP Print

Calculated Risk – Unofficial Problem Bank List increases to 817 institutions

Economic Policy Journal – More Keynesians Surprised and Disappointed by Weak Data

The Market Ticker – Durable Goods Collapsing

My Budget 360- The trillion dollar bailout you didn’t hear about – Commercial real estate values plummet again yet banks hide losses. A $3.5 trillion financial disaster in the making. We are now proud owners of an AMC theater and Chick-fil-A.

The Daily Bell – Is It an Elite Depression?

The Market Oracle – Why US Treasury Notes Will Eventually Yield Nothing

Bullion Bulls Canada – U.S. Government Prepares for ‘Crisis’

Business Insider – There is a far-reaching change occurring now which threatens housing markets around the country. A survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the National Apartment Association in May 2010 found that 76% of those surveyed now believe that renting is a better option than buying in the current real estate market, up from 71% in 2008.  Especially sobering was the fact that 78% of those surveyed were homeowners.

Pragmatic Capitalism – Why the Euro is doomed

Calculated Risk – Existing Home Sales lowest since 1996, 12.5 months of supply

Decline of the Empire – The Unremitting Housing Disaster

Daily Reckoning – Is the Weak Euro the Reason Germany is Recovery?

Of Two Minds – Wal-Mart and the Plantation Economy

Global Economic Analysis – Epidemic of Thrift vs. Leap of Faith; Housing Slide Will Seal Recession Fate

Reuters – The value of retail sales edged up just 0.1 percent after two months of declines as falling gasoline prices partly offset strong demand for vehicles, household goods and building materials, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. Markets had expected sales to rise 0.4 percent.

The Woodpile Report – Ol Remus’s weekly report. Some of his best work yet.

Gonzalo Lira – How Hyperinflation Will Happen

Reason – Obvious Failure of Stimulus Becomes Obvious Even To Economists **TY J.M. Heinrichs

Calculated Risk -Restaurants in “survival mode”

Love Salem - The Big Lie: Highway Projects Help the US Economy

Reason – Summer of Recovery Dog Days

WSJ – A review of drug-test data compiled by drug testing firm Sterling Infosystems Inc., shows that cocaine is losing its favor among investment professionals. What drug is their choice? Marijuana.

Vox Popoli – Living beyond your means

Ass. Press – Bedbugs found in basement of Empire State Bulding

Yahoo News - Electricity prices in Ontario are “going up like a rocket,” fuelled in part by the Ontario government’s Green Energy Act, says a longtime observer of the province’s energy scene. “You are going to get screwed, and it’s going to be painful,” said Tom Adams, a Toronto-based consultant and a former executive director of Energy Probe.

Zero Hedge – At £4.8 Trillion In Total Debt Including Unfunded Liabilities, UK Debt Is Six Times More Than The Official Number

FDIC – EIGHT more American bans bite the dust last week – what’s that for the year, 116?

**Green Shoots & Leaves will resume next Monday, as TLDG, Clare & I will be leaving for Georgian Bay tomorrow for a few days. I have some posts in queue for tomorrow and Friday, so stop shivering and freaking out, you’ll still be able to get your uninterrupted entertainment fix, just not your Green Shoots.

CNBC – US Says Bankruptcies Reach Nearly 5-Year High **Go have a look at the numbers, they are simply devastating

Zero Hedge – Greek Bonds Slump As Austerity Backfires, Country Enters “Death Spiral”, And The Violent End Game Approaches

Of Two Minds – Two Americas: The Gap Between the Top 5% and the Bottom 95% Widens

Israel’s Financial Expert – Canada’s Housing Bubble- a Look at Canada’s “Conservative” Banking System

Whiskey & Gunpowder – Oil Spill Just the Beginning of Florida’s Troubles

Firehouse – 800 Interested in 5 Georgia FF Jobs

Israel’s Financial Expert – The Euro Crisis and the Coming Euro Collapse Act II- Time to Check How Austerity Is Going

Business Insider – It’s Not Your Imagination, The Bed Bug Crisis Is Exploding

Energy Dimension – Dollar origami

Boston – Once sold for $12.5b, Lycos has $36m price tag

The Daily Bell – Euro-Zone Erodes

Money & Markets - According to the Special Inspector General for TARP, Washington has spent a total of $3.7 trillion on bailouts and Fed money-printing — NOT including trillions in other government guarantees — to fight this recession so far. Meanwhile, since the labor market began recovering a bit this year, a total of 654,000 jobs have been created. So let’s do the math: Just divide $3.7 trillion spent by the 654,000 jobs that were created, and you’ll see that Every one of those new jobs cost a staggering $5,657,492 to create!

The Motley Fool – Peter Schiff: “We’re in the Early Stages of a Depression”

Zero Hedge – Housing Starts Miss Estimates, Barely Beat Yet Another Downwardly Engineered Prior Number

WSJ – Another Threat to Economy: Boomers Cutting Back

The Automatic Earth – Deflation & You: Acting perfectly sensible 

WSJ – Is a Crash Coming? Ten Reasons to Be Cautious

The Columbian – Home sales in county tumble 48 percent in July

Pragmatic Capitalism – The usual suspects don’t appear to be healing in Europe.  CDS spreads continue to widen throughout much of Europe despite the Herculean measures taken on by the ECB.   As we mentioned last week, things appear to be getting worse in many countries across the region….Will the markets continue to sit by idly as it appears increasingly obvious that the austerity measures are not the quick fix everyone assumed them to be?  Or is this just a shot across the bow?

National Post – Housing sales were down 30% in July from a year ago, and the Canadian Real Estate Association is blaming the drop on the new harmonized sales tax in Ontario and British Columbia.

Gallup -  In U.S., Confidence in Newspapers, TV News Remains a Rarity

Ass. Press – J.C. Penney cuts outlook on consumer weakness

CNN – A quarter of Russian crops have been lost in the recent drought, leaving many farms on the brink of bankruptcy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday.

NewsMax – TARP Billions Shipped Overseas Can’t Halt Global Slowdown

Of Two Minds – True Confessions (on Liberty and the Republic)

PR Newswire – Caterpillar to Expand Manufacturing and Increase Employment in the United States With New Hydraulic Excavator Facility in Victoria, Texas

Las Vegas Review Journal – Las Vegas home values keep going down – 75% under water

Zero Hedge – Matterhorn Asset Management There Will Be No Double Dip… It Will Be A Lot Worse  **You really should read this one

The Market Oracle – The Connection Between Debt and Money Under Fractional Reserve Banking

The Market Ticker – More Signs Of Trouble In The Economy