Worker productivity in the U.S. accelerated more than forecast in the third quarter, leading [sic] to a decline in labor costs. Productivity, a measure of employee efficiency, rose at an annual rate of 4.9 percent, the most in four years and up from a revised 2.2 percent in the second quarter, the Labor Department said today. Labor expenses dropped at a 0.2 percent pace, the first decrease in more than a year. more ...

That item is not news; it's another data point on a continous downward trend in wages due to substitution of US labor for other technologies in a domestic economy whose GNP metric is bloated by financial services "output." Consider, GM lost USD 0.74 as compared to the range 1.60 - 2.62 for WaMu and US government reinsurers Freddie Mac and Freddie Mae, which preceded further public exposure of fraud, that is, aside from deliberate FRB/Treasury USD devaluation.

[NY Attorney General Andrew] Cuomo said in an e-mail he will hold a news conference in New York City at 12 p.m. [7 Nov 2007] and will announce "a significant new development in his expanding investigation into the mortgage industry involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." Last week, Cuomo sued the real estate appraisal unit of First American Corp., the biggest U.S. title insurer. Cuomo accused the appraiser of inflating home values under pressure from Washington Mutual.

The people who report financial news in the US are tripping. But if GM tanks to ~$15, I might feel compelled to buy a chunk in anticipation of the big fire sale to come.

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