MORNING BRIEFS

*so the government is the new EMPLOYER on the block. What will 3Q look like? None of this is good for the long term of our economy, no matter what they say. WHY? You ask. Because consumers are not SAVING, that's a phony number. Consumers don't have any money! Ijiots
Personal Income and Savings are up
Personal income increased $167.1 billion, or 1.4 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $178.1 billion, or 1.6 percent, in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $25.1 billion, or 0.3 percent. In April, personal income increased $78.3 billion, or 0.7 percent, DPI increased $140.0 billion, or 1.3 percent, and PCE increased $1.0 billion, or less than 0.1 percent, based on revised estimates. The pattern of changes in personal income and in DPI reflect, in part, the pattern of increased government social benefit payments associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

*where's my lending window
Fed to extend some lending programs, scale others back
Many of the Federal Reserve's emergency lending programs will be extended through February because financial markets have not stabilized as much as the central bank would like. Meanwhile, other programs will be scaled back, an indication of the Fed's plan to wind down its unprecedented actions to bolster the financial system. The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility is still set to expire at the end of December. The Washington Post (26 Jun.)

*well well well, so the world's second largest economy (and I have always wondered why and how) isn't in all that great shape after all.
Issue of home-loan defaults looms in Japan
The Tokyo Foundation said problems within Japan's housing-loan sector, which have been brewing for a decade, are about to explode. The issue is a result of a government policy that offered mortgages to consumers who were unable to make payments, the think tank said. The meltdown is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of Japanese households. The Times (London) (26 Jun.)

*wait for higher prices due to Al Qaeda blowing up the oil companies new fields and US troops will be traffic cops
Iraq prepares to auction off rights to prime oil fields
All of the big powers in the energy industry know Iraq plans to auction off rights to develop several of its major oil fields. What they do not know is what will happen after that. Iraq is still a dangerous place, and the Iraqi parliament has not enacted a law governing the oil industry. The New York Times (25 Jun.)