Five Things You Need to Know: This Is What the Economy Really Looks Like

1. This Is What the Economy Really Looks Like... Via Google

I admit it, I really like the Google (GOOG) Finance Domestic Trends indexes. Google Domestic Trends track Google search traffic across specific sectors of the economy. "Changes in the search volume of a given sector on google.com may provide unique economic insight," the company says. Indeed, a look at a handful of the indexes paints a pretty clear picture of why the economic recovery doesn't feel like a recovery even though the stock market says otherwise. (See Minyanville: The Economy Is Not the Stock Market).

Let's start at the beginning. Credit & Lending. The Google Credit & Lending Index tracks queries related to "credit, credit card, chase, loans" etc.




How about Auto Buyers, queries related to "car, blue book, toyota, kelly book" etc.?



And as we might expect, Auto Financing? Yikes!



Well, at least there's the Apple (AAPL) iPad and iPhone to rescue the econo... crap!



Okay, forget Apple. From what I've read it appears homebuilder stocks such as Pulte Homes (PHM), Toll Brothers (TOL), and DR Horton (DHI) are doing well, so perhaps the construction business has stabili... what in the?



And then there's Real Estate...



I don't even want to look at furniture...



Please... please not Retail...



Is there nothing up?

Well, searches for jobs are trending higher!



Maybe since so many of us are out of work we have more time to travel? (Sigh).




2. Hey, What If Supermarkets Were Like Public Schools?

While there has been much said in the media recently about the supposed "Education Bubble," mainly in reference to college education, there is little doubt that the public school system in America is in dire need of remodeling. The curriculum in the majority of public school systems has only been superficially updated and is still geared toward teaching basic assembly line skills. Thus, we continue to educate children to participate in labor markets that are today non-existent. Here is a thought provoking, powerfully argued piece asking, what if supermarkets were like public schools?
 

Suppose that groceries were supplied in the same way as K-12 education. Residents of each county would pay taxes on their properties. Nearly half of those tax revenues would then be spent by government officials to build and operate supermarkets. Each family would be assigned to a particular supermarket according to its home address. And each family would get its weekly allotment of groceries—"for free"—from its neighborhood public supermarket.

No family would be permitted to get groceries from a public supermarket outside of its district. Fortunately, though, thanks to a Supreme Court decision, families would be free to shop at private supermarkets that charge directly for the groceries they offer. Private-supermarket families, however, would receive no reductions in their property taxes.

3. The Future of the Fed?

Thanks to Minyan JC for forwarding these recent panel discussions on the Future of the Fed via the Roosevelt Institute. Especially interesting is the video below, which covers quantitative easing.

Panel Two, Future of the Fed from Roosevelt Institute on Vimeo.


4. A Quick Look at Coca-Cola and Multi-Nationals

Kevin,

I enjoy your articles the most whenever there is Socionomics or DeMark present. Recently, I also thought your comment about YUM! Brands (YUM) and other companies was spot on, and I believe the tech firms that are showing positive DeMark signals are also squarely in this camp.

One of the original ex-US multinationals was Coca-Cola (KO). I've held it consistently since the early 1990s, adding a little when the bear markets hit. When I look at a long-term chart, it looks like a nearly 15-year cup and handle is still forming. Any comments or the DeMark indicator?

Thanks,
MC

Thanks for the heads up on KO, MC. Below is a 20-year MONTHLY chart of KO showing what you refer to as a cup-and-handle. From my perspective using DeMark indicators, the important thing is the solid green line that was broken and qualified as a breakout in March. While a recent TD Sell Setup 9 was recorded, indicating the first momentum stage is due for a 1-4 month pause, the breakout indicates that we should now trend higher to fulfill a TD Sequential 13 sell signal. At that point it does not mean the trend is over, just that buyers are temporarily exhausted; 61.90 is now support.

CLICK TO ENLARGE



5. May 21, 2011

If you type the date above into a search engine, you will learn that it is Judgment Day! Right. I have no idea what will happen on May 21, 2011, but I do want to make a formal, public statement here to address the possibility that it may, in fact, actually be Judgment Day. Just in case.

Kevin Depew's formal statement regarding May 21, 2011, (possibly) Judgment Day:

Hi. If I owe you money, or any kind of debt on an installment loan, I will not be making any payments until May 22, 2011. Thank you for your understanding.