Yearly Archives: 2013

Bank of England: Central Banker as Movie Star

"Carney has it all. The looks of George Clooney, the modesty of a working man, the suffragette-style boosterism of a man who is determinedly anti-chauvinist. He is a hard worker, early to rise and has a great command of central-bank technocratic science, as evidenced by his implementation of the new central banking of 'forward guidance.' He is being portrayed as a kind of central bank Renaissance Man – good at virtually everything. This won't last, of course. Let rates go up even a little and countries like Britain and the US will see their interest payments soar. There are considerable strictures on what central banks can do these days." Continue reading →

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Bank of England: Central Banker as Movie Star

"Carney has it all. The looks of George Clooney, the modesty of a working man, the suffragette-style boosterism of a man who is determinedly anti-chauvinist. He is a hard worker, early to rise and has a great command of central-bank technocratic science, as evidenced by his implementation of the new central banking of 'forward guidance.' He is being portrayed as a kind of central bank Renaissance Man – good at virtually everything. This won't last, of course. Let rates go up even a little and countries like Britain and the US will see their interest payments soar. There are considerable strictures on what central banks can do these days." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank of England: Central Banker as Movie Star

Italian mayor turns into Mr. Fix-It to save money in town budget

"An Italian mayor and his council members have decided to fight the economic crisis proactively, picking up paintbrushes and re-painting the walls of their offices themselves to spare the town budget. They worked overtime and even chipped in for the material themselves. 'In a time of economic hardship, we managed to save 10,000 euros ($13,000). My colleagues, mayor Giovanni di Panegrazio and myself paid for the 470 euros of material necessary for the work,' he said. Families of the council employees and other local residents have contributed with food and drink to reward the town managers for their sense of civic duty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItalian mayor turns into Mr. Fix-It to save money in town budget

Insurers dropping Kansas schools over concealed-carry law for teachers

"At least three insurance companies have refused to renew their coverage policies for Kansas schools in the wake of a new law allowing teachers to carry firearms on campus, The Des Moines Register reported on Sunday. The New York Times reported that school district administrators in Oregon are balking after the state School Boards Association, which manages liability coverage for the vast majority of school districts there, instituted an additional premium worth $2,500 for every faculty member who has a firearm on campus." Continue reading →

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Is It Good News or Bad News that the White House Has Delayed the Obamacare Employer Mandate?

“So part of me is happy that the White House has bumped into reality and now admits that it hasn’t been able to come up with a workable plan for the employer mandate.  But another part of me is unhappy.  … Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs It Good News or Bad News that the White House Has Delayed the Obamacare Employer Mandate?

Bill Bonner: The End of Low Interest Rates

"A generation has come of age in a time of falling interest rates. When the last turn came, the boomers were just reaching maturity, setting up families, beginning their careers and starting to think about investing. From 1981 until last month, they knew nothing else. A world of falling interest rates is a gentle, forgiving world. But it is a strange world too... It is a world of make-believe, where people pretend they have income they don't really have. What happens when people have debt up the wazoo... and interest rates rise? What happens when the entire economy depends on unprecedented levels of debt at unsustainably low interest rates? That is what we are going to find out." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: The End of Low Interest Rates

Moral of the Story: Tax Havens Are Okay if You’re a Politically Connected Leftist

"You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Secretary Lew wasn’t the first Democrat to utilize tax havens. Lawmakers such as John Kerry, Bill Clinton, John Edwards, and others on the left also have utilized tax havens to boost their own personal finances. And it appears that Mr. Lew won’t be the last Democrat to be caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Here’s some of what’s being reported by the New York Times with regards to the President’s nominee to be U.S. Trade Representative, Michael Froman." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMoral of the Story: Tax Havens Are Okay if You’re a Politically Connected Leftist

With nation’s strongest gun control laws, Chicago sees stunning 72 shootings over weekend

"The Fourth of July weekend was an especially bloody time in Chicago this year, where 72 people were shot over the course of just four days according to local media. Of that 72, NBC Chicago reported that 12 men were killed. A 5-year-old boy and a 7-year-old boy were also seriously injured in separate events, as was a 72-year-old woman who was reportedly shot in the ankle. NBC Chicago noted that at least three individuals who took bullets over the weekend are refusing to cooperate with police. 4,265 were murdered in Chicago from 2003-2011, according to HBO’s Vice, whereas 4,422 American soldiers died of violence in Iraq over that same period." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWith nation’s strongest gun control laws, Chicago sees stunning 72 shootings over weekend

Mayor of Chicago Reports Investment Income Far From Chicago (Cayman Islands)

"Rahm Emanuel, who released his tax returns for the first time as mayor Tuesday, reported earning more than $409,000 in 2012 from his city salary and income from investments. Emanuel reported his $204,726 salary as mayor and another $158,823 in dividend income from investments with JPMorgan Chase Bank and Golub Capital Partners VII LP, as well as $9,519 from his partnership in the Golub investment fund. The mayor reported paying $77,740 in federal taxes, or a rate of about 21 percent, on adjusted gross income of $373,478.[...]Some of Emanuel's investment income came from Golub entities with addresses in the Cayman Islands." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMayor of Chicago Reports Investment Income Far From Chicago (Cayman Islands)

Why Serial Asset Bubbles Are Now The New Normal

"Asset bubbles are inevitable when the pool of good investment opportunities is much smaller than the pool of credit-money sloshing around seeking a higher yield. It really is that simple. It's astonishingly easy to create hot money: just create the money in a central bank and then make it available to financiers, investment banks, global corporations and other Financial Elites at near-zero real rates of interest. It's considerably more difficult to create a good investment opportunity: an investment that is worthy of the risk must have a sound base in fundamentals such as cash flow, return on investment, etc." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Serial Asset Bubbles Are Now The New Normal