Hard hitting global and local news
Hard hitting global and local news
Earlier this month, Reuters reported Argentine peso at new lows as food price controls take effect Argentina’s peso slid to an all-time low on Tuesday as supermarkets froze prices in a deal with the government aimed at shielding poor families from one of the world’s highest inflation rates. The year-long price fix on 200 basic food products signals continuation of President Cristina Fernandez’s interventionist policies even as polls show her image has been battered by 25 percent inflation, falling reserves and electricity shortages. Tight currency and trade controls, as well as last year’s state seizure of Argentina’s top energy company YPF have taken a toll on confidence, while the electricity grid, ailing from lack of investment, fails to keep air conditioners humming at the height of the Southern Hemisphere summer
All things considered, expect nothing less than a massive Tsunami of Retail Store Closings and Downsizings . On Tuesday, Sears said that it will shutter its flagship store in downtown Chicago in April.
Continue reading here: State Bank Nonsense from Ellen Brown Revisited
Eurozone PMI Strengthens, Except France; Germany-France Yield Spread Widens; Where to From Here? The Eurozone composite PMI hit its highest since June 2011, but it did so with France still in contraction as noted by the Markit Flash Eurozone PMI .
Anousha Sakoui, M&A Correspondent for the Financial Times says Huge cash pile puts recovery in hands of the few . The pile of unspent corporate cash that has built up since the start of the financial crisis is being held by an increasingly concentrated pool of companies that will be crucial to hopes of a pick-up in business investment to stimulate the world economy.
Target Drops Healthcare Coverage for Part-Time Workers, Claims No Reduction in Hours; Thank Your Employer? Obamacare does not mandate healthcare coverage for part-time employees (defined as those working less than 30 hours a week)
Via translation from Les Echos , please consider Air Traffic Controllers Strike Again in Late January Air traffic controllers are on strike from January 27 to 31, with a black day 29. They oppose a proposed Brussels lower royalties. Three months after strike against the plans of the European Commission for the "Single European Sky", the French air traffic controllers will strike again, for the same reasons, from 27 to 31 January
French Banks Face €285 Bn Capital Shortfall, Germany €199 Bn, Spain €92 Bn; Mish French Fine Update At the risk of incurring another nonsensical fine for quoting someone on leverage and capital ratios of French banks, please consider European Banks Face $1 Trillion Gap Before Review . European banks have a capital shortfall of as much as 767 billion euros ($1 trillion) before the European Central Bank’s probe into the financial health of the region’s lenders, according to a study. French banks show the biggest gap of 285 billion euros, followed by German lenders with as much as 199 billion euros, Sascha Steffen of the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin and Viral Acharya at New York University said in their study dated Jan.
More Christie Allegations: Mayor of Flooded Hoboken Claims "Christie Held City Hostage" New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been damaged by numerous allegations involving political paybacks regarding lane closures on the George Washington Bridge that disrupted traffic for days. That scandal was bad, but at least Christie has claimed no personal involvement.