Surely, if you're still standing, there are fewer competitors out there. And those who have fallen have left unserved or underserved customers -- there for the taking.
Consider the broad indicators confirming the economy's current direction:
- New
claims
for
unemployment
insurance
have
dropped
for
each
of
the
past
5
weeks.
-
- November
job
losses
were
one
tenth
those
in
October
(11,000
vs.
110,000).
- In
revised
reports,
159,000
fewer
jobs
were
lost
in
September
and
October
than
first
reported
- GDP
expanded
for
the
third
quarter,
and
the
fourth
quarter
is
expected
to
follow
suit-
- Productivity
is
up
again,
for
the
3rd
quarter,
this
time
by
a
whopping
8%
(2nd
quarter
was
a
6.9%
gain).
Despite
the
number
of
unemployed,
those
still
employed
are
cranking
out
goods
and
services
at
a
record
pace.
- Mortgage
applications
are
up,
thanks
to
record
low
interest
rates
- The
economy
and
the
stock
market
shook
off
the
Dubai
debt
crisis
without
looking
back
- Retailers reported slight improvement of Black Friday sales vs. 2008, along with a strong increase in Cyber Monday sales (expected to be an all-time record for single-day online sales)
Most
importantly,
the
Federal
Reserve's
monetary
policy
remains
very
loose,
keeping
interest
rates
low.
This
single
action
by
a
single
Government
entity
will
continue
to
fuel
an
economic
expansion,
just
as
it
has
in
every
economic
"cycle"
in
the
past.
By
"cycle",
I
mean
the
ups
and
downs
in
the
US
economy
driven,
by
and
large,
by
the
monetary
policy
of
the
Federal
Reserve.
The
prevalent
idea
of
a
"double-dip"
recession
appears
unlikely
any
time
soon,
unless
the
Fed
miscalculates
as
it
subsequently
tightens
up
the
money
supply.
Once
the
Fed
decides
the
economy
is
growing
again
at
a
sufficient
rate,
monetary
policy
will
tighten
up.
Money
supply
will
be
reduced
and
interest
rates
will
climb
to
something
matching
the
GDP
growth
rate
--
hopefully,
not
a
lot
higher.
So,
until
that
happens,
the
sun
is
shining
on
American
business.
Let's
make
some
hay!
