Peggy Noonan hits the bullseye once again with “We’re Governed by Callous Children”. Click here   to access the Wall Street Journal article from which the following excerpt was  taken:

“The new economic statistics put growth at a healthy 3.5% for the third quarter. We should be dancing in the streets. No one is, because no one has any faith in these numbers. Waves of money are sloshing through the system, creating a false rising tide that lifts all boats for the moment. The tide will recede. The boats aren’t rising, they’re bobbing, and will settle. No one believes the bad time is over. No one thinks we’re entering a new age of abundance. No one thinks it will ever be the same as before 2008. Economists, statisticians, forecasters and market specialists will argue about what the new numbers mean, but no one believes them, either. Among the things swept away in 2008 was public confidence in the experts. The experts missed the crash. They’ll miss the meaning of this moment, too.”

Looks like the alleged “recovery” may bypass the clothing business, since their biggest lender is going down in flames. CIT has provided funding to 2,000 firms that supply merchandise to more than 300,000 stores. About 60% of America’s apparel industry depends on CIT for financing.  Click here  for the full story.

Far from recovering, the global economy is in the early stages of a protracted and severe downturn, writes The Guardian’s Larry Elliott:  ”But it was always inevitable that, sooner or later, globalisation would run into a crisis, and what we have seen in the past two years is just the start of it. Don’t be fooled by the sucker’s rally of the past six months – Americans are once again running down savings to consume goods they can’t afford; China’s exports are booming.”  Click here  for the full story.