American TPPA progress; US home sales fall, as do jobless claims; US, EU factories expand, China contracts; UST 10yr yield 2.22%; NZ$1 = 73.2 US¢, TWI-5 = 76.8

The LA Times nails it:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cheap-oil-20150520-story.html

''If there was one thing most economists agreed on at the start of the year, it was this: Plunging oil prices would boost the U.S. economy. It hasn't worked out that way.

The economy is thought to have shrunk in the January-March quarter and may barely grow for the first half of 2015, thanks in part to sharp cuts in energy drilling. And despite their savings at the gas pump, consumers have slowed their spending.
At $2.71 a gallon, the average price of gas nationwide is nearly $1 lower than it was a year ago. In January, the average briefly reached $2.03, the lowest in five years.
Cheaper oil and gas had been expected to turbocharge spending and drive growth, more than making up for any economic damage caused by cutbacks in the U.S. oil patch.
Consider what Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen said in December: Lower gas prices, Yellen declared, are "certainly good for families.... It's like a tax cut that boosts their spending power."
Other experts were more direct: "Lower oil prices are an unambiguous plus for the U.S. economy," Chris Lafakis, an economist at Moody's Analytics, wrote in January.
So what did they get wrong?....etc etc etc

This 'the oil price fall is unambiguously good new for the US economy' hokum was extensively promulgated on this site as well a few months back I recall, with a few dissenting voices.

Oh dear, another one the opinion formers dressed up as economists got wrong.....

It would be better if the TPP was initially signed without Japan and the USA. Partnerships are better for all parties if they are agreements between equals. With the USA and Japan in the deal initially, their power and influence will swing it strongly in their favour. The smaller countries intimidated by the power of the USA and with questionable hope of gaining large benefits in huge markets, will agree to less than what is in their best interest. History has proven that any country that has signed an FTA with the USA has ended up loosing more than they gain.
It would be better if we excluded them especially initially and agreed with other smaller countries, a deal that is mutually beneficial and provides critical mass and competitive advantage in the face of the dominant nations. Then at some point down the track we could consider admitting the USA and Japan, but on our terms only.

Maybe these economisseds also need to understand the definition of a surplus and a budget...too.

I saw in something I was reading this morning, refering to the dangers of a plutocracy, tht is the power and privilege all being in the hands of the wealthy. Democracies are supposed to prevent that, but Polly greed has ensured that the plutocrats are getting more and more influence and stopping governments from exercising the powers in the name of the PEOPLE! The TPPA is looking like another attempt by the Plutos (are they just another Disney dog?) to further their own cause. Obama after failed to hold the big banks to account for the crisis they caused, so has he become another lapdog for them?

...any great minds read anything into this..

http://www.watoday.com.au/business/markets/first-hanergy-now-goldin-hon…

Jeez, will be in Honk Konk next week....I will have a look for the missing..Billions...or was it just another Ponzi.

Would I be wasting my time...Billions is a lot to lose...maybe it is headed for NZ.. already....do ya think.?