Monthly Archives: August 2013

The Recession That Never Ended: 2008-2013 (and Counting)

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“Huge leaps in the income and wealth of the top 5% mask the decline of income and wealth of the bottom 95%. Average all wealth and income and it appears that the economy is expanding to the benefit of all, when it fact only the top 5% have escaped the recession; the recession never ended for the bottom 95%. An even better way to create an illusory expansion is to simply not measure trends that would reveal a deepening recession. For example, what percentage of student loans are purposefully taken out as a substitute for income, i.e. used to pay basic living expenses rather than education?”

http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-recession-that-never-ended-2008.html

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Lengthy, costly trail to Bay Bridge’s eastern span

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“The $6.4 billion eastern span of the bridge costs roughly five times its original estimate and took at least seven years longer than expected. It took Caltrans officials 7 1/2 years and $1 million in research before they decided to replace the eastern span rather than retrofit it.  In March, as contractors were tightening huge bolts attaching seismic safety devices to the bridge deck, the rods cracked. The surprising discovery of the cracked rods, some as long as 17 feet, led to an intensive investigation into how and why it happened and who was responsible, how the embarrassing problem could be fixed and whether – and when – it would be safe to open the bridge.”

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Lengthy-costly-trail-to-Bay-Bridge-s-eastern-span-4759001.php

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The Italian government really screwed this poor woman

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“They’ve jacked tax rates to the moon. And governments have forced banks to become unofficial tax collectors… limiting the amount of money that can be withdrawn and scrutinizing international wire transfers.  Then the government went and, practically overnight, made her agricultural operations unprofitable.  The home is another story altogether.  The villa was awarded a special status as a sort of national monument years ago. This meant that she was able to make upgrades, improvements, and maintenance investments on a tax-free basis. The government revoked this status, retroactively. And they’ve now presented her with a big tax bill that she was never expecting before.”

http://www.sovereignman.com/tax/the-italian-government-really-screwed-this-poor-woman-12634/

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Emerging market rout is too big for the Fed to ignore

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“Zero rates and quantitative easing were the cause of dollar liquidity flooding these countries. It was the biggest reason why net capitals flows into emerging markets doubled from $4 trillion to $8 trillion after 2008, much of it wasted in a late cycle blow-off.  One cannot blame the US for the failings of these countries, yet Ben Bernanke and his successor will still have to live with the consequences. Globalisation has entrapped the Fed. Like it or not, the Fed is the world’s monetary superpower. The exodus of money from emerging markets that we have seen so far is nothing compared with what could happen if this episode is mishandled.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/10272285/Emerging-market-rout-is-too-big-for-the-Fed-to-ignore.html

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Italian factory owner moves company to Poland while staff are on holiday

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“Fabrizio Pedroni, 49, said he was driven to the drastic course of action because his factory had not turned a profit for five years and he was being strangled by high salaries, crippling taxes and dismal rates of productivity. Moving the factory to Eastern Europe was the only way of saving his company, which was founded 50 years ago by his grandfather. When his 40 employees found out what had happened, they were furious. They were not due to return from holiday until next week but got wind of the covert operation and turned up at the Firem factory in the town of Formigine to find the place devoid of machinery.  Mr Pedroni says he has received death threats and will not be returning to Italy anytime soon.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/10262743/Italian-factory-owner-moves-company-to-Poland-while-staff-are-on-holiday.html

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A Finicky Thief of the Finest Silver Is Arrested Again

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“Even before someone carefully removed a windowpane from a secluded Buckhead home here one rainy June night and slipped away with a 1734 silver mug that had belonged to George II, it was clear to detectives that a meticulous thief with a singular obsession was stealing the great silver pieces of the Old South.  For months, exquisite sterling silver collections had been disappearing, taken in the dead of night from historic homes in Charleston and Belle Meade, Tenn. The police did not at first connect the thefts, some of which initially went unnoticed even by the owners. But as the burglaries piled up, a retired New Jersey detective watching reports on the Internet recognized a familiar pattern.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/us/a-finicky-thief-of-the-finest-silver-is-arrested-again.html?emc=eta1&pagewanted=all

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Japan’s debt-funding costs to hit $257 billion next year

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“Japan expects to spend a record $257 billion to service its debt during the next fiscal year, a document obtained by Reuters showed, underscoring the huge burden created by the government’s borrowings.  That will be up 13.7 percent from the amount set aside for the current fiscal year, reflecting the ministry’s plan to guard against any future rise in long-term interest rates.  Years of fiscal stimulus to revive a stagnant economy and surging social welfare costs for a rapidly ageing population have led to Japan running a record 1,000 trillion yen ($10 trillion) in public debt, double the size of its economy and the biggest among major industrialized nations.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/27/us-japan-economy-debt-idUSBRE97Q05H20130827

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Argentina rejects court order to pay ‘vulture fund’

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“Argentina has said it will continue to pay back debt on its own terms, after a US appeals court ordered the South American country to hand $1.47 billion (1.1 billion euros) to two hedge funds holding its defaulted bonds. Buenos Aires’ defiant stance is just the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute over government bonds it defaulted on in 2001. Facing bankruptcy at the time, the country struck a deal with almost all of its creditors to restructure its debt at a discount of nearly 70 percent. Argentina has claimed that the court’s decision would spur the other 93% of creditors who previously agreed to a deal to also demand full repayment, thus forcing the country back to bankruptcy.”

http://www.france24.com/en/20130826-argentina-rejects-ruling-bond-repayment-default-vulture-hedge-funds-seized-ship

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As prices soar, Indians exchange gold for cash

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“Jewellery associations in Hyderabad said with the single day surge of Rs 2,500, customers were coming in droves from early morning to take back cash in exchange for their gold jewellery. Already reeling under protests and strikes over the bifurcation issue, the sudden increase in gold price has come as a death blow to the jeweler shops in Seemandhra areas. Jeweler shop owners in Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada said their existence would be doubtful if the present stalemate continued any further. With gold prices increasing, enquiries for gold loans are also on the rise, said Nagaraju Rao, a manager with one of the outlets of Muthoot finance group.”

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-29/hyderabad/41579538_1_gold-jewellery-gold-prices-10-gram

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