[Lemmy]

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

What stock market were you investing in? Either you had the worst broker in Canada or you picked some of the only stocks that lost. People made a killing in 2007 and 2008 right up until about September / October.

My portfolio is heavy on financials, so mine started being hit earlier than a lot of folks. My portfolio peaked in Oct 07 and got killed by BMO and Citi collapse over the fall of 2007.

[Lemmy]

RUEZ RUEZ:

Sure he is, he's a trained economist.

No he's not. 'Education' and 'training' are two different things. We've been down this road before. An MA in economics no more makes one an economist than an MA in English Literature makes one a novellist.

[RUEZ]

Lemmy Lemmy:

RUEZ RUEZ:

Sure he is, he's a trained economist.

No he's not. 'Education' and 'training' are two different things. We've been down this road before. An MA in economics no more makes one an economist than an MA in English Literature makes one a novellist.

Everyone but you thinks he's an economist. You're outnumbered and apparently don't get to decide who's called an economist.

[dino_bobba_renno]

I'm kind of surprised this didn't get more coverage by the press. Maybe they're still dissecting it or something but I thought it would be the top story.

[Lemmy]

RUEZ RUEZ:

Everyone but you thinks he's an economist. You're outnumbered and apparently don't get to decide who's called an economist.

Yes, I'm outnumbered here. I'm also the only economist here. Who'd know better what makes one an economist, you bunch or I? You believe what you want to believe.

[RUEZ]

Lemmy Lemmy:

RUEZ RUEZ:

Everyone but you thinks he's an economist. You're outnumbered and apparently don't get to decide who's called an economist.

Yes, I'm outnumbered here. I'm also the only economist here. Who'd know better what makes one an economist, you bunch or I? You believe what you want to believe.

Actually it's not us that determines he's an economist.

[OnTheIce]

Lemmy Lemmy:

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

The typical symptoms of a pending recession weren't there.

The market didn't tumble in August 07, it dropped slightly and then was back up and down like normal until October, 2008.

I got my PhD in economics at MIT. Where'd you get yours? What "typical symptoms" are you speaking of? This problem reared its ugly head in the summer of '07 when the financial sector started shaking (in July). Bank stocks started diving shortly after that and every economist knew we were headed for the shitter when the fall semester started in '07.

GDP growth flattened out in the summer of '07, going negative in for the first time in December '07. We didn't get 6 consecutive months of declining GDP until January of 2009, making the recession official. Real GDP change figures, monthly from July '07: [0.1% July07, 0.2 Aug, 0.1 Sept, 0.2 Oct, 0.1 Nov, -0.6 Dec, 0.5 Jan08, -0.2 Feb, -0.1 Mar, 0.3 Apr, -0.2 May, 0.1 June, 0.6 July, -0.5 Aug, -0.1 Sept, -0.1 Oct, -0.7 Nov, -1.0 Dec, -0.6 Jan, -0.1 Feb, -0.3 Mar]

But, since our prime minister isn't an economist, it's not really his fault if he didn't know the recession was coming until StatsCan announced it was official this January.

The symptoms you provided aren't suffice?

Neither if the conditions you laid out were true in regards to Canada nor did the market "dive" in August of 2007.

[Lemmy]

You believe what you want to believe too. When you get your doctorate, you can argue economics with me.

[ridenrain]

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

I'm kind of surprised this didn't get more coverage by the press. Maybe they're still dissecting it or something but I thought it would be the top story.

Michael Ignatieff was demanding the 360 hour EI changes be made for a very long while now so he's going to be screwed here because those changes are not made. He has very little choice but to approve it without those changes.

This is showing a good, recovering economy and a government on top of the matter. That's why we're not seeing it on the news. Without the economy in tatters myth, the Libs have nothing.

[RUEZ]

Lemmy Lemmy:

You believe what you want to believe too. When you get your doctorate, you can argue economics with me.

[ridenrain]

Good blog entry on this:

$1:

Michael Ignatieff Waves His Paper Tiger For The Press
June 11, 2009 — Raphael Alexander

Read my lips: there will be no summer election. Having Michael Ignatieff even pretend such a thing speaks to his opinion of our intelligence. There is absolutely nothing that the economic update indicates, and nothing about the performance of the Conservatives, that would be compelling enough to defeat the government after 8 months in power, during which time they have acquiesced to the “coalition” demands for stimulus spending. I suppose what rubs me the wrong way about Mr.Ignatieff’s current posturing and brooding, is the emptiness of his gestures. As Paul Wells wrote, the Conservatives are “off probation”, and this Shakespearean act he’s putting on is fooling nobody but, it would appear, the news wires.

The problem for Mr.Ignatieff, like his predecessor, is that he is fighting desperately for some kind of relevance. An immediate brand of relevance that isn’t just about secret tape recordings, or listeriosis, or employment insurance. And yet despite having nothing to say, nothing new to add, nothing to fight the Conservatives on, he continues to talk about the prospect of an election, pretending he holds sway over the guillotine hanging over the heads of the government. Rubbish.

Mr.Ignatieff’s actions are nothing but an exaggerated dramatic pause, a William Shatner impersonation involving hyperbole and over-acting, as he mulls over the economic update that he knows full well is based largely on the demands of the Liberals themselves, most of which has yet to even be implemented. The Liberals have a lot to say, but not much to talk about. What exactly does this party stand for, that it didn’t stand for under the tenure of Stephane Dion, except for the dunking of the Green Shift into the memory hole? In fact the only reason the Liberals would even consider bluffing on an election right now, is that they inexplicably show a lead in most recent federal polls, despite the fact that all polls also show that Canadians don’t want an election yet.

If we’re to take the latest cryptic message from Ignatieff’s war room seriously, some people actually think there’s a chance to attack the Conservatives while they’re seen as being weak. But here’s where we see the true nature of the Liberal strategy revealed for the rank opportunism of an empty agenda. The only reason to have an election is based on defeating the Conservatives at a time where polls indicate it could happen, but just like the planned “coalition” coup, they have neither the consent, nor the will of the public in whatever policies Mr.Ignatieff has managed to squeak from both sides of his mouth. We hear the Liberals complaint about the massive projected deficit, but at the exact same time complain that not enough money is being spent to provide stimulus during the economic downturn.

And what of the will of those behind the scenes? Why, even by the contents of that Lisa Raitt tape that the Liberals have mercilessly flogged in Question Period, the companies and banks and financial institutions that backed the Liberal and Conservative plans for economic recovery with this stimulus budget would be none too happy to hear that Mr.Ignatieff is backing out of the deal:

Later in her conversation with Ms. MacDonnell, Ms. Raitt tells the man driving them around Victoria that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff had backed down from defeating the Conservative government on a budget a few days earlier because he got a message from Canadian bankers.

“They did it at the Canadian Council of (Chief) Executives, there was three presidents of major banks who stood up in the room — and this is not from cabinet so I can talk about it — stood up and said, ‘Ignatieff, don’t you even think about bringing us to an election,’” said Ms. Raitt.

“’We don’t need this. We have no interest in this. And we will never fund your party again.’ That was very powerful. So he heard it from very powerful people in the industry. He was definitely muzzled.”

And yet these “Liberal insiders” consider the odds of defeating the government as being “50-50″. Without the consent of the public, without the consent of companies and workers who want to focus on economic recovery, and perhaps even without the consent of those within the Liberal Apparatchik itself. If the Liberals did somehow manage to convince the NDP and Bloc Quebecois to defeat the government in a confidence vote, I think the voters would severely punish the opposition parties for putting their own opportunistic goals, once again, ahead of Canadian interests.

[kenmore]

And.... right you are M. Ignatieff ..right you are

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/649660

[dino_bobba_renno]

Weird, still hardly anything from most of the major media outlets. I guess RR is right, it ain't news unless it's bad news.

[ryan29]

ridenrain ridenrain:

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

I'm kind of surprised this didn't get more coverage by the press. Maybe they're still dissecting it or something but I thought it would be the top story.

Michael Ignatieff was demanding the 360 hour EI changes be made for a very long while now so he's going to be screwed here because those changes are not made. He has very little choice but to approve it without those changes.

This is showing a good, recovering economy and a government on top of the matter. That's why we're not seeing it on the news. Without the economy in tatters myth, the Libs have nothing.

i think the liberal response to this is a joke , first off they got the report they wanted and it shows things on the economic stimulus front are in full swing . they simply cannot claim the money is not being spent well and on projects that will help the economy .
secondly canadians don't want an election over this report and to many it doesn't amke snese why the opposition is so upset about this as there does not seem to be anything to be upset about . honestly i think the opposition needs to get a life and go on summer break and find some cooler heads . cause us canadians do not see this as grounds for a july eelction .