Daily Readings 01-31-2011
Low-wage jobs dominated hiring so far in job market recovery – There are two problems with the jobs recovery to date. Employers haven’t added enough jobs. And those they have added aren’t particularly good ones.
No Recovery for the American Worker – For 2010, the U.S. economy created only 1.1 million new jobs, a rate of increase well short of the number of new entrants into the U.S. labor market. Including in the unemployment measure discouraged workers and those involuntarily working part time, the unemployment level is around 17 percent.
Home Prices Sink Further – Declines Reported in All 28 Major Metropolitan Areas; Unsold Inventory Piles Up
Adjustable-rate mortgages are making a comeback – Hybrid ARMs, some of which have rates significantly lower than 30-year fixed-rate mortgage alternatives, are growing in popularity. PEOPLE, HAVEN’T YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM YOU PAST MISTAKES ?
Loneliest Man in Davos Foresees 2015 Bank Crisis While Global Elites Party – As politicians, executives and financiers networked at parties and panels last week in Davos, Switzerland, Barrie Wilkinson was in a nearby hotel, warning that a 2015 financial catastrophe may be looming.
Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions – Political risk has returned with a vengeance. The first food revolutions of our Malthusian era have exposed the weak grip of authoritarian regimes in poor countries that import grain, whether in North Africa today or parts of Asia tomorrow.
European Inflation Quickens to Two-Year High of 2.4% – European inflation accelerated more than economists forecast in January, keeping pressure on policy makers to monitor price gains that are exceeding the European Central Bank’s limit.
Uncle Sam in the driver’s seat – You should trust the government whose recent innovations include the ethanol debacle that, four days before the State of the Union, the government expanded. And you should surrender more resources to the government whose recent innovations include the wild proliferation of subprime mortgages.
Mascots of the Self-Congratulatory Elites – A MUST READ! – Victor Davis Hanson’s quietly chilling article, “Two Californias,” ought to be read by every American who is concerned about where this country is headed. California is leading the way, but what is happening in California is happening elsewhere — and is a slow poison that is largely being ignored.
Cut or spend – you can’t have it both ways – Everybody wants to cut the debt and everybody wants to spend more money. Never mind that, as every hapless credit card addict discovers, once you are bankrupt and in debt over your head, every additional pound that you spend has to be borrowed which thus increases your debt, making it more unlikely that you will ever be solvent again.
What kind of government debt counts as debt? – Despite America and Europe’s onerous entitlements, these promises are not included in their debt figures, though rating agencies claim to account for entitlements when they give sovereign debt ratings. But these promises are accounted for differently than other obligations because future entitlements are subject to revisions.
Tawdry details of Obamacare – If you would like to know what the White House really thinks of Obamacare, there’s an easy way. Look past its press releases. Ignore its promises. Forget its talking points. Instead, simply witness for yourself the outrageous way the White House protects its best friends from Obamacare.
Judge rules healthcare reform unconstitutional – A judge in Florida on Monday became the second judge to declare President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law unconstitutional, in the biggest legal challenge yet to federal authority to enact the law.
For Many Companies, Low Taxes Are Key To Profits – Just how broken is the corporate tax system? Consider the tax rate paid by two of America’s biggest companies — Wal-Mart and General Electric. Wal-Mart paid 34 cents in taxes for every dollar of profit it made in the past three years. General Electric paid just 3.6 cents on the dollar.
Brian Calle: Pension tsunami has reached shoreline – Concerns over mounting unfunded public-employee retirement benefits confronting states and municipalities have been growing for years but the tidal wave is no longer on the horizon, it’s at the shoreline. And the time has come to advance tough – even painful – workable solutions. Fortunately there are many remedies; it will just take the political will to take on the public-sector unions.
Stefan Törnqvist, top manager of a Finnish bank believes that the euro will fail within two years – Capital Executive Director of the “Alandbanks,” Stefan Törnqvist, wrote on Friday in the Swedish-speaking Hufvudstadsbladet that he believes with 80 percent certainty that the euro will collapse. He also suggest a creation of a Scandinavian Monetary Union, return of the Krone, the Finish Mark and the Deutsche Mark...
Why You Can’t Trust the Inflation Numbers – As you battle to manage your family’s finances, be aware that there are three reasons why inflation needs to be on your radar screen.
The Inflation Merry-Go-Round – The last two to three months have seen the growth outlook for the global economy solidify and inflation return to the forefront of investors’ attention.
Washington’s Financial Disaster – THE long-awaited Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission report, finally published on Thursday, was supposed to be the economic equivalent of the 9/11 commission report. But instead of a lucid narrative explaining what happened when the economy imploded in 2008, why, and who was to blame, the report is a confusing and contradictory mess, part rehash, part mishmash, as impenetrable as the collateralized debt obligations at the core of the crisis.
