On Jobs Report, AP Changes Take From Almost 'Healthy' to 'Mixed'

This post will document what transpired at the Associated Press on Thursday before and just after the release of the government's employment report. It should be a humiliating lesson to its business and economics writers. One would hope that they might learn to concentrate solely on discerning and accurately reporting the relevant facts, and to leave the analysis to others. (I know; fat chance…
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Jimmy Carter: America in 'Inevitable Decline,' Not Obama's Fault

From the man who brought you malaise, now an even more depressingly negative view of America . . . On today's Morning Joe, Jimmy Carter declared that America is in "inevitable decline."   But no finger-pointing at President Obama, please: Carter declared that the decline is "not because of any defect or fault on the part of the President of the United States."   Cue the Cole Porter: it's just…

Bloomberg Bases 'Factories Making a Comeback' Story on a Survey

As I was looking for news coverage of Thursday's horrid factory orders report from the Census Bureau late last week, I came across an incredibly optimistic Blomberg News report by Victoria Stilwell. The headline of her story on July 1, the day before that factory orders release, read: "Factories Making a Comeback as U.S. Domestic Demand Picks Up." My reaction: On what planet? It turns out that…
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El clamor de un pequeño empresario se escucha en Telemundo

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A menudo, los propietarios de pequeñas empresas se quejan de estar siendo “estrangulados” por el mandato de cada vez más beneficios. Sin embargo, pocas veces ese clamor es presentado con un estilo claro y atractivo, como sucedió con la cobertura de la legislación en California que obliga a empresas a pagar días de ausencia por enfermedad para trabajadores temporales.
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'Strangled' Small Businessman Pipes Up on Telemundo

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Small business owners often complain about being “choked” by ever-increasing mandated benefits, but rarely do you see their complaints presented in a clear and compelling way. An exception took place during coverage of the very latest mandated benefit in California: sick leave for part-time employees, which just took effect this month. 

AP: Obamacare a Likely Factor in 'Increasing Part-Time Employment'

Though the Associated Press is now basically admitting it, we all knew it. Obamacare's 30-hours-per-week definition of a "full-time employee" for employer health insurance coverage purposes has been responsible for one of the fundamentally negative changes in the American workforce — a noticeable move away from full-time to part-time employment. In a report with a current Saturday morning time…

Factory Orders Dive Again; AP, As Usual, Hides Full Extent of Decline

All the attention given to the decidedly mixed employment report the government issued early Thursday morning and the ongoing debt drama in Greece overshadowed a very disappointing release on factory orders which arrived from the Census Bureau 90 minutes later. In a cursory eight-paragraph report at the Associated Press, Martin Crutsinger relayed the basic bad news, but studiously avoided citing…
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Reuters: June Job Gains (Virtually All in Services) Were 'Broad-Based'

The folks at Reuters issued a pretty sloppy video yesterday relating to the government's June jobs report. That videos described yesterday's reported jobs gains of 223,000 as "broad-based." That's true only if you think having 222,000 of yeaterday's those seasonally adjusted gains occurring in service industries, while only 1,000 were seen in goods-producing industries, is "broad-based":
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ABC Omits Flat Wages, Low Labor Participation Rate in June Jobs Report

All three major broadcast networks covered on their Thursday evening newscasts the June 2015 jobs report, but it was ABC’s World News Tonight that neglected provide any further details and/or context beyond the unemployment rate and number of jobs added and omitted how hourly wages remained flat and the labor force participation rate sunk to its lowest level in 38 years. While CBS and NBC…
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Pro-Hillary Begala Brags That Moderate Dems Tagged Her as 'Bolshevik'

As he appeared on Thursday's New Day, liberal CNN political commentator and Hillary Clinton supporter Paul Begala hinted that being called a "Bolshevik" communist is resume enhancement for a Democratic presidential primary as he recalled that, what he referred to as the "very moderate Clinton economic team" from the Bill Clinton administration, used to deride Hillary Clinton and her staff as "the…
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Hayes Blames 'Monstrous' Euro Banks for Grinding 'Greece into Misery'

MSNBC host Chris Hayes devoted a segment during Monday’s All In to commenting on the financial crisis in Greece and chose not to attack the left-wing government or any of the previous governments for their spending habits, but rather laid blame at the feet of “morally monstrous” European banks and others in the Eurozone for grinding “Greece into misery” in “a sadistic exercise in sheer will to…

CNN Touts Poll Showing 'the Good Word' of Obama Approval Rating

Tuesday's New Day featured its latest CNN/ORC poll results showing that President Obama's overall approval rating has recently inched up a few points to 50 percent, his highest number in two years, with co-anchor Chris Cuomo touting the results as "the good word" as he introduced correspondent Jim Acosta. For his part, after recounting the finding that President Obama's approval for his handling…
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Inmigrantes no autorizados compiten por más empleos, Univisión festeja

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“De indocumentados a empresarios”, es como la conductora del programa matutino Despierta América de Univisión, Satcha Pretto, celebró la implementación de una nueva ley en California que les permite a los inmigrantes no autorizados obtener permisos de trabajo del Departamento del Asuntos del Consumidor.
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Unauthorized Immigrants Compete for More Jobs, Univision Cheers

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“From undocumented to entrepreneurs” is how Univision morning host Satcha Pretto celebrated the implementation of a new California law that allows unauthorized immigrants to receive work permits from the state’s Department of Consumer Affairs.