New Data Shows Economy Still Sucks

Remember all that talk about how the unemployment rate fell by .1 percent last month and this proved, definitively, that happy days were here again? Remember all the sailors kissing ladies in the streets, and the wonderful ticker-tape parades? Well, everything has gone back to being terrible, according to New Statistics.

Foreclosures rose 7 percent between June and July. And initial unemployment claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 558,000 last week, instead of decreasing to 545,000, as analysts had expected.

So congratulations, you are ever so slightly less likely to have a house this month than you did a few months ago, particularly if you live in a place like Nevada. And if you still have a job you must hide it under your pillow every night, along with a six-shooter, to keep it safe from unemployed robbers.

 Foreclosures rise 7 percent in July from June [AP]

 Retail sales dip unexpectedly, jobless claims rise [AP]