Tag: government

March 6, 2013 0

Eurozone Downturn Accelerates Despite German Growth; Divergence to France Widest in 15 Years

By News Desk

The Markit Eurozone Composite PMI Final Data shows the Eurozone downturn accelerates . Key Points: Final Eurozone Composite Output Index: 47.9 (Flash 47.3, January 48.6) Final Eurozone Services Business Activity Index: 47.9 (Flash 47.3, January 48.6) At 47.9 in February, the Markit Eurozone PMI® Composite Output Index came in above the earlier flash estimate of 47.3 but remained down on January’s reading of 48.6. The index therefore signalled a steepening of the downturn in business activity, contrasting with the easing trend which had been evident in the three months to January

March 6, 2013 0

US Plots Conquest of Venezuela in Wake of Chavez’ Death

By News Desk

March 6, 2013 (LD) – US corporate-financier funded think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), declared in its ” post-Chávez checklist for US policymakers ,” that the US must move quickly to reorganize Venezuela according to US interests. Upon its checklist were “key demands”: The ouster of narco-kingpins who now hold senior posts in government The respect for a constitutional succession The adoption of meaningful electoral reforms to ensure a fair campaign environment and a transparent vote count in expected presidential elections; and The dismantling of Iranian and Hezbollah networks in Venezuela In reality, AEI is talking about dismantling entirely the obstacles that have prevented the US and the corporate-financier interests that direct it, from installing a client regime and extracting entirely Venezuela’s wealth while obstructing, even dismantling the progress and geopolitical influence achieved by the late President Hugo Chavez throughout South America and beyond. The AEI “checklist” continues by stating: Now is the time for US diplomats to begin a quiet dialogue with key regional powers to explain the high cost of Chávez’s criminal regime, including the impact of chavista complicity with narcotraffickers who sow mayhem in Colombia, Central America, and Mexico.

March 4, 2013 0

The Fatter the Cat, the Louder the Howl

By News Desk

Bloomberg reports Swiss Voters Approve Limits on ‘Fat Cat’ Executive Pay Swiss voters approved some of the world’s toughest limits on executives’ pay in a referendum, a move critics say could make Switzerland less attractive to multinational corporations. The initiative against “fat cats,” proposed by Thomas Minder, head of a herbal toothpaste company, was backed by 67.9 percent of the voters today, the government said on its website today. The proposal gives shareholders an annual ballot on managers’ pay

March 4, 2013 0

Michael Pettis on Misguided European Optimism

By News Desk

Via Email, Michael Pettis author of " The Great Rebalancing " (see "Great Rebalancing" Book Review: Two Thumbs Up ) dispels the myth that Spain and peripheral Europe are on a sustainable rebalancing path relative to Germany. Pettis writes …

March 2, 2013 0

China "Fully Prepared for Currency War" Says China’s Central Bank Deputy Governor

By News Desk

Please consider China well-prepared for currency war: official . China is fully prepared for a looming currency war should it, though "avoidable," really happen, said China’s central bank deputy governor Yi Gang late Friday. A currency war could be avoided, Yi said, if policymakers in major countries observed the consensus, reached at the recent G20 meeting, that monetary policy should primarily serve as a tool for domestic economy.

March 1, 2013 0

Reflections on the "Wage Recession"

By News Desk

Jed Graham at Investor’s Business Daily has an interesting chart showing Wage Recession Hits 5 Years; Worse Than Jobs Drought . I can show it’s even worse, but first let’s consider a chart and commentary by Graham. As bad as the current job recovery has been — and it’s by far the weakest since World War II — the recovery in wages has been far worse