Top of the News: Don't be fooled by the somewhat lower weekly jobless claims, this labor market remains very sick as America slogs through the 20th month of recession.

The American economy has lost more than 3.4 million jobs since the beginning of the year, and 6.5 million since the start of the downturn. Compare that to approximately 3 million lost in the nasty 1982 recession.

Put another way, with June's unemployment numbers the U.S. now has fewer jobs than it did nine years ago (and more people). According to Economic Policy Institute economist Heidi Shierholz, "this is the only recession since the Great Depression to wipe out all jobs growth from the previous business cycle, a testament to both the enormity of the current crisis and to the extreme weakness of jobs growth over the business cycle from 2000 to 2007."

The Back Story: In the Here We Go Again Department, Morgan Stanley plans to repackage millions in near-junk collateralized debt obligations as top-rated securities and market them to investors. This according to a report from Bloomberg. It was this kind of creative finance, of course that caused the crash. Is this what alt-energy backers have in mind when they talk about turning trash into fuel?

Meanwhile, political extremism doesn't make for a healthy business climate, something our friends at Boeing might want to consider. South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint said that America under President Obama is "where Germany was before World War II." In other words, under Hitler.

Today's Econ Haiku:

Don't look back, MS
Is something gaining on you?
Google the answer