Some news of the day -- good? NO!

This weekends "Some Assembly Required" is full of jolly good stuff. Enough to make you watch movies, television, and listen to music all weekend.

Here are a few tid-bits -- by the way, please follow link to original
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Datum: One in seven Americans and 25% of the children in the US now live in poverty.

Pharaoh’s Army: According to PIMCO's el-Erain, America has become a country where pressures from growing inequality are threatening the nation's social cohesion. If there are not adequate public and private sector responses, “this phenomenon will damage the welfare of current and future generations.” Or, “You reap what you sow.”

Cliff Note: The question was “Is austerity killing Europe's Recovery?” If you said 'Yes', you get an “A”. For “A+” the answer is 'What recovery?'

The Pause that Refreshes Reconsiders: International debt refinancing/rescheduling talks with Greece have been suspended because Athens deficit is growing faster than expected and austerity measures are tanking the economy faster than expected and the Greeks don't seem anxious to privatize the Acropolis, either.

Picnic Basket: Just in time for Labor Day, hiring grinds to a halt and no new jobs get created. Those who still have jobs can take the day off and celebrate.

Best Guess: If BofA's residential loan portfolio is typical of the industry, about 35% of the $413 billion will go sour (or, more likely, has already gone sour), and it will suffer a 50% haircut on them – which is a $70 billion loss. And that's several times what BofA has set aside
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There is more.