Tag Archives: Middle Class Dismissed

Bank of England warns of a bubble as UK house prices rise 10.5%

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“Mark Carney told MPs on the Treasury select committee that the threat of a property bubble was the ‘biggest risk’ to economic recovery over the medium term, as official figures showed house prices rose by 10.5% in the year to May – and more than 20% in London. Outlining in detail why the Bank’s financial policy committee made the decision last month to limit the proportion of high loan to income mortgages granted by lenders, he said that a proliferation of highly indebted households could tip the economy back into recession.  Prices have risen more quickly for first-time buyers than for those moving home, going up by 11.3% over the year to an average of £202,000.”

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jul/15/ons-uk-house-prices-may-london

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Rising home prices a global concern

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“Take a look at the world’s dizzying surges in the price of housing for 12 months at the end of June: London, up 20%. Manhattan, 18%. Sydney, 15.4%.  Some Singaporeans have bought homes in neighbouring Malaysia, which requires a passport-control stop and a two-hour drive when traffic is heavy to reach the business district.  Prices on Hong Kong island, roughly the size of Manhattan where about 1.2 million people live, are the third-most expensive in the world after Monaco and London, at US$1,920 per square foot.  While housing costs about half as much in the northernmost New Territories, prices there rose 140% from 2008 through 2012.”

http://www.therakyatpost.com/business/2014/07/30/rising-home-prices-global-concern/

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Shipping container apartment being erected in Washington this week

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“They are the building blocks of the global economy, 20 million big steel boxes sloshing across oceans on mammoth container ships.  Starting Monday, the first of 18 dented outcasts are set to be stacked in a dug-out District basement, turning a deteriorating student group house into an experiment in creating eye-catching housing fast and on the cheap.  Among the questions raised by the effort: Can hundreds of thousands of discarded sea containers, long talked up by designers, really help create more affordable housing, or is it mostly a gimmick? And just how do you bring humanity to the confines of an 8-by-40-foot box?”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/shipping-container-apartment-being-erected-in-washington-this-week/2014/07/20/50adbd04-0e01-11e4-b8e5-d0de80767fc2_story.html

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Big jump in number of millennials living with parents reported

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“More Americans than ever live in multigenerational households, and the number of millennials who live with their parents is rising sharply, according to a study released Thursday.  A record 57 million Americans, or 18.1% of the population, lived in multigenerational arrangements in 2012, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s more than double the 28 million people who lived in such households in 1980, the center said.  For the first time, a larger share of young people live in multigenerational arrangements than of Americans 85 and older. The share of people in the older age group living in multigenerational households rose between 2000 and 2012 to 22.7%.”

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-more-millennials-moving-home-20140717-story.html

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New-home sales fall 8.1% in June; May sales in record downward revision

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“Paired with June’s slippage, newly updated sales figures for March, April and May show the industry’s spring performance was weaker than previously estimated, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.  Instead of rising nearly 19% from April, May’s sales were only up about 8%. The magnitude of the change was a single-month record for new-home sales data, according to Census records on revisions that date to 1996.  Sales fell from May in every region, led by a 20% decline in the Northeast. The falloffs elsewhere were 1.9% in the West, 8.2% in the Midwest and 9.5% in the South.  The median price of homes sold last month was $273,500, up 5.2% from June 2013.”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2014/07/24/june-new-home-sales/13087091/

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Econ 101 for Panama: New Price Controls Bring Rampant Shortages

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“During the last couple of weeks, Panama — with expected annual economic growth of 7 percent this year — has faced what hardline socialist nations such as Cuba and Venezuela experience every day: food shortages. As many experts warned, and only 15 days after newly elected President Juan Carlos Varela announced the price-control law, the empty shelves are everywhere.  On July 7, Varela’s administration selected 22 retail products from Panama’s basic food basket for the ‘Pocket First’ program. The implementation of price caps is supposed to save families up to US$58 per month, and ‘rectify speculation.’  The productive sector is already feeling the pain.”

http://panampost.com/marcela-estrada/2014/07/21/econ-101-for-panama-new-price-controls-bring-rampant-shortages/

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Comply with California water-saving rules, get fined for brown lawn

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“On the same day the state approved mandatory outdoor watering restrictions with the threat of $500 fines, the Southern California couple received a letter from their city threatening a $500 penalty for not watering their brown lawn.  It’s brown because of their conservation, which, besides a twice-a-week lawn watering regimen, includes shorter showers and larger loads of laundry.  They’re encouraged by the state’s new drought-busting, public service slogan: Brown is the new green.  The city of Glendora sees it differently.  Residents are caught in the middle of conflicting government messages as the need for conservation clashes with the need to preserve attractive neighborhoods.”

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/07/19/california-couple-faces-fine-for-brown-lawn-after-complying-with-water-saving/

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California introduces $500 fines for wasting water

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“Though Gov. Jerry Brown had urged a voluntary 20% reduction in water use, figures released last month indicated a drop of only 5% statewide for the year. But the State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday updated the monthly survey from water districts to show that consumption had increased 1% in May compared with a year ago.  Based on the initial figures, the board last week proposed banning watering lawns, washing cars or sidewalks and running fountains, with violators facing fines up to $500 a day. On Tuesday evening, the board adopted those measures. Police will have the authority to ticket water-wasters.”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/15/california-water-use-drought/12682299/

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American Airlines cuts Venezuela flights after Maduro threat

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“American Airlines says it is cutting almost 80% of its flights to Venezuela from next month.  Tight foreign currency controls make it difficult for foreign airlines to repatriate money from ticket sales in Venezuela.  The authorities have restricted access to dollars and want to make them more expensive to purchase, which may lead to losses for companies that are still waiting for cash from as far back as 2012.  In January, Ecuadorean airline Tame also suspended flights to Venezuela, demanding $43m (£26m) in overdue payments for tickets.  President Nicolas Maduro said at the time that airlines that reduced their operations in Venezuela would face ‘severe measures’.”

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27895233

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Spain Issues Retroactive 0.03% Tax on Bank Deposits

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“Spain will retroactively tax bank deposits to January 1, 2014 stating the move will boost growth and job creation.  Guru Huky correctly labeled the tax for what it is ‘More than a tax, this looks like a mini seizure of deposits. Someone likely needs a few million and to balance the books.’  The notion that a tax increase will boost the economy is of course absurd. But don’t worry, it’s only 0.03%, nudge nudge, wink wink … for now.”

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/07/spain-issues-retroactive-003-tax-on.html

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