Hard hitting global and local news
Pettis on Debt, Currency Wars, Commodity Prices and Capital Flight; China FDI Contracts 8.7% YoY, 8th Drop in 9 Months The much-denied hard landing in China is now underway with weakening data everywhere one looks.
Total Revenues: -$468.8 million (-10%) Income Tax: $156.2 million (5%) Sales Tax: -$390.7 million (-40%) Corporate Tax: -$26.4 million (-9.1%) What the Numbers Tell Us Typically, July is a month when California revenues go on vacation, as the month accounts for about one dollar of every $20 deposited in the General Fund.
Just 14% expect today’s children to be better off than their parents Just 31% believe the U.S. economy will be stronger in one year Just 27% think the country is heading in the right direction. Just 24% of American Adults believe the job market is better than a year ago 44% think the job market is worse, up 15 points from June Demographics Suggest Majority is Right I happen to agree with the majority who think those now graduating from high school will not be better off than their parents. There are too few jobs, too much student debt, and too few workers supporting too many retirees on Social Security
Der Spiegel has published an inane article about Europe’s 10 Most Dangerous Politicians . Top 10 List Markus Söder , Bavarian Finance Minister: The politician from the Christian Social Union, the conservative sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, is known for his tub-thumping rhetoric and has stepped up a gear in the euro crisis with vitriolic comments about Greece
Please consider Hermosa Beach Meter Maids Make Nearly $100K When contemplating the many reasons cities in California and elsewhere are venturing closer to bankruptcy, look no further than the relatively lucrative and often-unjustifiable salaries bestowed on municipal employees – and the lofty pension benefits attached to the high pay. One of the latest examples comes from the California coastal city of Hermosa Beach, where some community service staffers who collect money from parking meters and manage their operations – positions once widely known as “meter maidsâ€â€“ are making nearly $100,000 a year in total compensation, according to city documents. There are 10 parking enforcement employees for the 1.3-square-mile beach city southwest of downtown Los Angeles, and they pull down some disproportionate compensation, considering their job functions.
Financial Times Alphaville picked up on the story in Chinese Banks’ Weapons of Mass Ponzi We wrote last week that China’s shadow banking system was reflecting and, to an extent, contributing to a growing liquidity risk which in turn is being exacerbated by net capital outflows. Since then, there have been some interesting revelations on the domestic liquidity management, especially in shadow banking, and especially especially in wealth management products
In turn, I give credit to Michael Snyder for his writeup Anyone With Half A Brain Should See That A Gigantic Economic Collapse Is Coming Snyder, referencing Ron Paul and Tony Robbins, writes … For the past four decades, the United States has been enjoying a 15 trillion dollar party. All of this borrowed money has enabled us to live far, far beyond our means
Problem in Europe is Arithmetic, Not Confidence; Why the Eurozone Cannot Possibly Survive Intact Via email, Michael Pettis at China Financial Markets makes a compelling case why Spain is destined to leave the euro. For ease in reading, I added the subtitles in bold
As a result "Les Riches" Have Tax Indigestion and are looking to move outside France. “We’re getting a lot of calls from high earners who are asking whether they should get out of France,†said Mr. Grandil, a partner at Altexis, which specializes in tax matters for corporations and the wealthy
Interview With Roger Bootle, Who Won the Wolfson Prize for Developing a Practical Plan to Dissolve the Eurozone Posted by Michael Shedlock at 2:34 AM Disclaimer: The content on this site is provided as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, including advertisements, shall not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument, or to participate in any particular trading or investment strategy. The ideas expressed on this site are solely the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinions of sponsors or firms affiliated with the author(s)