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The announcement on October 29 that 3Q GDP surged 3.5% was seen as a confirmation that the recession is over. However, a closer examination of that report reveals that it was still a disappointing quarter for the economy, especially considering how much government spending contributed to the gain... The government reported last week that US worker productivity surged to the highest level in six years in the 3Q. Normally rising productivity is a good thing but this time, much of the increase is due to massive layoffs -- fewer workers are having to do more work -- and many companies are laying off the best and brightest, such as scientists and engineers... The unemployment rate surged to 10.2% in October, the worst in a quarter century.

This week, we will examine all these issues at length, plus I have included a very worrisome analysis from economic forecaster Nouriel Roubini regarding the US dollar and what he sees as the next credit crisis on the horizon. Finally, I have included an article from the Wall Street Journal that lists the most insidious parts of the new healthcare bill that just passed - prepare to get very angry!

Finally, our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families of the innocent soldiers who were killed and injured in the tragedy at Fort Hood that occurred on November 5.

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This Thursday, all eyes will be on the 'advance' estimate of 3Q GDP, and most analysts expect it to be positive and confirm that the US economy emerged from the recession in the July-September quarter. Yet even if the GDP report is positive on Thursday, we all know that the unemployment rate (currently 9.8%) continues to rise and is likely to go up for at least several more months.

If the government counted everyone who is unemployed, or is working part-time because they can't find a full-time job, the real US unemployment rate was 17% as of the end of September. So even if the recession 'officially' ended in the 3Q based on this Thursday's GDP report, this economy is far from out of the woods. And if the dollar continues to fall, even more dire consequences (ie - a double-dip recession) are likely to follow. It's a lot to cover in one letter, so let's get started.

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Most (but not all) of the economic reports over the last month or so have been positive, and more and more forecasters now believe that GDP growth will be slightly positive in the 3Q. Unfortunately, we don't get our first 3Q GDP estimate until the end of October. The latest GDP estimate for the 2Q was unchanged at -1.0%, which was better than expected. I will cover the latest encouraging (and not so encouraging) economic news just below.

Next, on Friday, August 21, the Obama administration quietly announced that the White House Office of Management & Budget revised upward its long-term federal deficit projections to fall in line with those of the Congressional Budget Office. The White House finally admitted that its economic assumptions were too optimistic - to the tune of $2 trillion over the next 10 years. So now it's official - even President Obama admits he will more than double the national debt in the next 10 years, which will likely lead to another financial crisis.

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Last Friday's better than expected GDP report has caused many forecasters to declare that the recession is ending. While I would say that it is still too early to declare that the recession is ending, the latest data strongly suggests that we've seen the worst of this recession and the credit crisis. Even if the recession is ending, economic growth going forward is likely to remain disappointing since the unemployment rate will continue higher for some time to come. We will look at the latest economic numbers and draw some conclusions as we go along. We will also look at the latest survey of over 100 large hedge fund managers and what they predict for the economy, stocks, interest rates, etc. It all should make for interesting reading.

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Last Wednesday, President Obama announced the most sweeping financial industry reforms since the Securities and Exchange Commission was created in 1934. Obama unveiled new proposals that would refashion the federal rules governing almost every corner of finance, and will push the government and the Federal Reserve much more deeply into banks and the private markets. I will discuss these massive changes and tell you why I do not believe they will be good for the markets or investors, for the most part. We will also look at some new polls which indicate that more Americans are worried about President Obama's trillion dollar deficits than they are about the recession. Lastly, we will look at the latest economic numbers and what they mean. Let's jump right in....

Last Wednesday the government reported that 1Q GDP declined at an annual rate of 6.1%, thus confirming that we are still in a deep recession. While the GDP report was worse than the pre-report consensus, it was very much in line with what I predicted in my April 21 E-Letter. I continue to believe that we will be in this recession all year.

Several recently released studies highlight the fact that long maturity Treasury bonds have outperformed stocks over the last 40+ years, and by a substantial margin over the last 28 years. I will examine these reports as we go along. Does this mean you should put all of your money in bonds now? I'll tell you why I believe that would be the wrong move to make at this time.

Finally, we get calls every day asking if the recent rally in the stock markets means that the bear market is over, or if this is just a bear market rally. While no one knows for sure, we will take a look at some past bear market rallies to keep things in perspective. I think you'll find this week's letter interesting....

While the global recession and credit crisis are still in full swing, at least we have finally seen a few positive economic reports of late. Specifically, we have seen some good news in the housing sector where new and existing home sales actually increased nicely in February, following months and months of decline. We also saw an unexpected jump in durable goods orders for last month. These reports, along with the nice jump in the stock markets, have led several noted forecasters to suggest that we've seen the bottom in the recession and the worst of the credit crisis. I am not so convinced.

We will also take a close look at Treasury Secretary Geithner's latest bank bailout plan that would partner government and private investors in a scheme to take toxic assets off of the banks' books, but there is no guarantee that this new plan will work. We'll also examine the Fed's latest plans to buy Treasury debt and more toxic assets from banks. Next, we'll examine the latest report from the Congressional Budget Office regarding President Obama's record large budget for 2010, which the CBO says will result in a massive $2.3 trillion deficit. Can I say, I told you so?

It's a lot to cover in one letter, but I trust you will find it interesting....

As we kick off the New Year, let's review the latest dismal economic and financial data and the consensus views of what lies ahead in 2009 for the economy, the credit crisis and the markets. As you might expect, most of my trusted sources believe that the recession will be with us for a while, but there is hope that the economy will begin to bottom out sometime late this year - aided by more huge government bailouts that President-elect Obama has in store for us....