Economics

More Entrepreneurs Say “Au Revoir”, Escape France’s Confiscatory Tax Regime

"New evidence of top French executives leaving the country has emerged as President Francois Hollande battles a stalling economy and tumbling approval ratings. Two senior executives at Moet Hennessy, the champagne and cognac arm of the LVMH luxury group, are moving to London from Paris and the head of Dassault Systemes, the software arm of Dassault Aviation, said some senior managers of his company had left and he was considering following suit. …The news follows Mr Arnault’s own application for Belgian citizenship, leaked last September, which poured fuel on a fiery debate in France about entrepreneurship, patriotism and high taxes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore Entrepreneurs Say “Au Revoir”, Escape France’s Confiscatory Tax Regime

Popularity of French President Francois Hollande in Steep Decline

"Since taking office 10 months ago, Hollande has experienced the fastest drop in popularity ever seen in French presidential politics. In June of last year, those who said they had confidence in him numbered between 51 and 63 percent, depending on the polling institute. That number is now 30 to 37 percent, nearing the lowest approval rating of any French president on record: Nicolas Sarkozy in May 2011, at 20 percent. Hollande is struggling to find convicing counterarguments as unemployment has risen to 11 percent, economic data looks more dismal by the week, industrial output is taking a nosedive and a recovery is nowhere to be seen." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPopularity of French President Francois Hollande in Steep Decline

Japanese Solution for Collapsing Portugal?

"The Portuguese population is getting older as it shrinks. The presumptive obligations of the Portuguese government to take care of its aging population will be increasingly tested within the current environment. Spain, Greece, Ireland, Portugal – gradually and in various ways the Southern half of Europe is collapsing into varying stages of violence and apathy. But if the Portuguese solution takes hold, then the damage that has been done in the past five years may extend a generation or more. Europe may gain a euro but it will lose decades of vitality and innovation as its younger generations emigrate to more hospitable regions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapanese Solution for Collapsing Portugal?

Kyle Bass Warns: “The ‘AIG’ Of The World Is Back”

"His single best investment idea for the next ten years is, 'Sell JPY, Buy Gold, and go to sleep,' as he warns of the current situation in markets, 'we are right back there! The brevity of financial memory is about two years.' The main thrust of the discussion is Bass' thesis on Japan's pending collapse - which we wrote in detail on here, here, and here - and while the details of this thesis should prepare most for the worst, it is the Q&A that provides some very clear insights into just what is going on in the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKyle Bass Warns: “The ‘AIG’ Of The World Is Back”

Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Flees Currencies Tainted by Stimulus Addiction

"Norway’s $713 billion sovereign wealth fund is turning away from the world’s biggest currencies and their debt-laden governments as policy makers undermine their exchange rates through unprecedented stimulus measures. The Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest wealth fund, cut its holdings in French and U.K. government bonds by almost half last year as it raised its share of government bonds in emerging-market currencies to 10 percent of its fixed-income holdings by adding investments in Turkey, Russia and Taiwan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Flees Currencies Tainted by Stimulus Addiction

Is Detroit a Self-Defense Haven?

"Detroit has been getting a lot of attention for its recent shootings. Not the usual criminal stuff, but the step-up in self-defense shootings as people have come to realize that the police only exist to mark the outlines of bodies with chalk. Justifiable homicide in the city shot up 79% in 2011 from the previous year, as citizens in the long-suffering city armed themselves and took matters into their own hands. The local rate of self-defense killings now stands 2,200% above the national average. Residents, unable to rely on a dwindling police force to keep them safe, are fighting back against the criminal scourge on their own. And they’re offering no apologies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs Detroit a Self-Defense Haven?

Gun-control demagoguery is a lethal weapon

"Despite tough economic times, firearms and ammunition companies have created nearly 27,000 well-paying jobs over the past two years alone. Smart lawmakers from Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Arizona, and South Carolina are now courting Remington away from New York and Magpul away from Colorado. For now, these states can offer business-friendly, Second Amendment–defending climates that support a demonized industry. But how much longer will it be until Obama and the pro-jobs hypocrites on Capitol Hill find new, more nefarious ways to obstruct this innovation-driving, wealth-producing sector of the American economy?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun-control demagoguery is a lethal weapon

French and Italian debt chiefs warn on EU Tobin Tax

"The proposal - now in the hands of working groups - is to come into force in early 2014. It will raise a fee of 0.1pc for shares and bonds, and 0.01pc for derivatives. These rates are far higher than the Swedish tax in 1989 that led to an 85pc crash in bond sales, a 98pc fall in bond futures, and shut-down of options trading, before the experiment was abandoned. The Chancellor, George Osborne, said the FTT scheme would amount to a tax on pensioners and cost up to 1m jobs across the EU 'without costing bankers a penny'. The traders would migrate to the US or Asia, taking the financial industry with them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench and Italian debt chiefs warn on EU Tobin Tax

The Dorm Boom: Higher Education’s Fellow Traveler

"It’s a curious time for a campus construction boom. Alternatives to a traditional college education are growing every day. Amid the change and uncertainty, real estate developers are rushing to build student housing. Major homebuilding companies like Lennar and Toll Brothers that ramped their businesses up in the single-family housing boom have now shifted their focus to another boom: student housing. While Freddie Mac, a large purchaser of student housing loans, is a bit cautious after purchasing $1.7 billion in loans last year, the private sector is ready to build. Bricks-and-mortar higher education is a bubble searching for a pin. Student housing is going along for the ride." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Dorm Boom: Higher Education’s Fellow Traveler

Why Bond Market Bulls Are About to Get Crushed

"We have the lowest interest rates in 250 years – lower than at any time since the founding of the country – created by the Federal Reserve forcing interest rates to zero in the short term. In addition, we have the Fed encouraging banks to help lower rates through buying Treasuries. On top of this, we also have some $350 trillion of swaps derivatives of interest rates – more than half of all the derivatives out there are interest-rate derivatives. Banks use these swaps to transmit lower rates to other debt instruments based on what can they can get from the Fed. This drives all rates down. We've seen 30 years of declining interest rates." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Bond Market Bulls Are About to Get Crushed