"Copyright is a type of censorship—in this case, it suppresses the dissemination of books caught in the copyright 'black hole' as a result of the combination of copyright terms, the orphan works problem (which is a result in part of the lack of a requirement for copyright registration formalities and renewal requirements)." Continue reading →
"The topics he focuses on are Central bank expansion (with a mind-numbing array of awe-full numbers to explain just where the $10 trillion of freshly created money has gone), Japan's near-term outlook ('the next 18 months in Japan will redefine the economic orthodoxy of the West'), and most importantly since, as he notes, 'we are investing in things that are propped up and somewhat made up,' the psychology of negative outcomes. The latter, Bass explains, is one of the most frequently discussed topics at his firm, as he points out that 'denial' is extremely popular in the financial markets." Continue reading →
"International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), the world’s largest computer-services provider, began cutting U.S. jobs today as part of a global restructuring plan announced in April. The reduction targets employees with a range of seniority, from rank-and-file staff to executives. Some U.S. workers began to receive notifications of the cuts last night, according to Lee Conrad, a coordinator for Alliance@IBM, an employee group. The restructuring will cost $1 billion worldwide, including severance expenses. The company is probably cutting 6,000 to 8,000 jobs globally, based on the $1 billion cost figure." Continue reading →
"European car sales fell to a 20-year low in May as record joblessness caused by a recession in the euro area reduced demand at PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG), Renault SA (RNO), Fiat SpA (F)and General Motors Co. (GM) Registrations dropped 5.9 percent to 1.08 million vehicles from 1.15 million a year earlier, the Brussels-based ACEA said today. The figure was the lowest for the month since 1993. The ACEA compiles data for the 27-nation EU plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. Peugeot, Renault, Fiat and GM’s deliveries fell at least 10 percent in the region last month as price cuts failed to attract buyers." Continue reading →
"The average rent in NYC last quarter was $3,017 a month, according to Reis Inc. According to Reuters, the average New York rent was more than 50 percent higher than second-place San Francisco, where rent grew 1.1 percent from the first quarter to $1,998.82. Oklahoma City was the cheapest market, at an average of $571.03 a month, up 0.6 percent. The national average is $1,062. With few apartments up for grabs in NYC, brokers are urging prospective tenants to carry financial paperwork with them to showings and to make a decision quickly, reports WSJ." Continue reading →
"While the average rent for available apartments in New York City is now over $3,000, the U.S. Census Bureau says renters in New York City were only paying a median of $1,125 in 2011. What gives? The answer is, there are lots of cheap apartments in New York. You just can't get one of them, because they're rent controlled, and tenants with great rent controlled deals cling to their apartments until they die. In Manhattan below 96th Street, 35% of rent regulated apartments are occupied by a tenant who has lived there for more than 20 years. Less than 3% of market-rate tenants have been around that long." Continue reading →
"The average rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.51% in the week ending July 11 - reaching the highest rate since July 2011,Freddie Mac said today in its weekly report. A year ago, the 30-year rate averaged 3.56%. This is only the beginning. It is not the time to have a floating rate mortgage. If you haven't locked in your mortgage rate with a long-term fixed rate mortgage, do so now." Continue reading →
"It has become clear for U.S. citizens abroad that the only thing worse than NOT being tax compliant is BEING tax compliant. The cost of U.S. tax compliance is that your U.S. citizenship will disable you from effective financial and retirement planning. The reason is that the U.S. considers most non-U.S. investment vehicles to be PFICs. The sale of your principal residence will be subject to a capital gains tax. Furthermore, the additional “Obamacare taxes” imposed on investment income will make the situation worse. If you you own a principal residence or a non-U.S. mutual fund and you sell it all the gains (and possibly more) will be confiscated." Continue reading →
"One of the most important data points released by the Federal Reserve has been the amount of excess reserves sitting at the Federal Reserve. This is important data because these reserves are sitting at the Fed and not in the economy bidding up goods and service. If banks start pulling this money out of the Fed and making loans with the money, the money supply will explode, as well as price inflation. This must be watched closely. But notice something about this chart, the chart title says the series is discontinued. Got that? One of the most important data points is no longer reported by the Federal Reserve." Continue reading →
"Mr. Gandolfini’s estate is estimated to be about $70 million. Due to poor legal advice and estate planning, more than $30 million of his estate could go to the government thanks to a 'death tax,' or an estate tax of 55%. Unless Gandolfini was sitting on large sums of cash, his family will now be forced to sell off property and liquidate assets quickly in order to pay the tax bill. There are a few simple techniques that could have saved Tony millions, and they can work for you too." Continue reading →