Preparedness

In this week's Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Mish and Chris discuss:

• Behind the Bogus Jobs Numbers
  • Overestimates in the hundreds of thousands
• The Massive Cost of Hurricane Sandy
  • The indirect costs are as concerning as the direct ones
• Oh…Canada
  • No longer immune to the ills of its trading partners
• The Fallible Fed
  • Out of arrows at this point?

The carnage of Hurricane Sandy provided a distraction this week from the election spectacle. Expect only a few more weeks of juiced-up numbers (e.g., jobs) and economic claptrap (the rebuilding from Sandy will be an economic boon and increase GDP!) before the unavoidable sinks in: There is no more carpet left to sweep things under. Recession is claiming nearly all of the G7 countries, the $20+ billion cleanup price tag from Sandy will be a sucker-punch to the already-toddering U.S. economy, and our leaders – irrespective of who wins the Presidential elections this month – are out of options. The forces of nature have been at bay long enough – and will now exert themselves, with prejudice.