Bad Economic News and the End of Optimism

More bad economic news is out today already, with a jobs report showing unemployment leaping to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent — much worse than expected. That news follows on the heels of a devastating retail sales report for October, which found a significant drop in consumer spending. With good reason, retailers are worried about a sluggish holiday season ahead. And that’s all on top of a steep two-day slide on Wall Street.

Here’s the perspective one analyst offered to the Financial Times:

“This time next year, Obama euphoria will be crushed under the weight of the unfolding economic and market meltdown,” warned Albert Edwards, analyst at Société Générale. “The crushing weight of the ‘Great Debt Unwind’ has only just begun.”

It’s hard to think of things this way, with the good will from the election still fresh. But it’s the grim reality President-elect Barack Obama, and the rest of us, face in the days ahead.

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