investment

World’s 50 Safest Banks 2012

"Bank stability remains a pressing concern for the world’s corporations and investors. It is within this context that Global Finance announces its 21st Annual Ranking of the World’s 50 Safest Banks. Canadian banks are the best performing in North America with seven banks in the top 50 compared to five from United States. Banks from Singapore are the strongest in Asia and from Chile in Latin America. Credit ratings and rankings of most European banks have suffered except for those at the very top of the list which have explicit guarantees from AAA rated governments." Continue reading →

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Bank of Japan likely to ease again next week via asset buying

"The Bank of Japan will likely ease monetary policy next week, sources say, as looming risks such as the potential fallout from the U.S. fiscal cliff and weak Chinese growth continue to cloud the outlook for an economy already seen as in recession. The most likely option is for the central bank to expand its asset-buying and lending programme, currently at 91 trillion yen ($1.1 trillion), by another 5-10 trillion yen, at the meeting on Dec. 19-20. The central bank has been under intense pressure to become bolder in its efforts to beat deflation ahead of a lower house election on Dec. 16, which polls suggest the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will win." Continue reading →

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Bank of England & Carney: This Doesn’t Sound Good

"'The [UK] Treasury opened the door to a more aggressive monetary policy on Wednesday, as aides to the chancellor welcomed the next Bank of England governor’s radical views on stimulus measure for flagging economies. In a speech on Monday, Mark Carney suggested setting targets for the overall size of the economy, or nominal gross domestic product, rather than inflation.' [...] Does it worry anyone besides me just a teensy bit that this guy hasn’t even figured out where the BoE coffee pot is, and his people are already lying for him? Far be it from me to distrust an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, but still…" Continue reading →

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Bernanke to Double Down on Money Printing

"Mad money printer Ben Bernanke, in addition to continuing his current $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities, is going to also purchase longer-term Treasury securities at the tune of $45 billon per month. This is very serious money printing, especially given that banks appear to be adding this money to the system rather than putting the funds in excess reserves. Prepare for strong 2013 price inflation." Continue reading →

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Costco’s Dividend Tax Epiphany

"When President Obama needed a business executive to come to his campaign defense, Jim Sinegal was there. The Costco co-founder, director and former CEO even made a prime-time speech at the Democratic Party convention in Charlotte. But now these people at the very top of the top 1% who preach about tax fairness voting to write themselves a huge dividend check to avoid the Obama tax increase they claim it is a public service to impose on middle-class Americans who work for 30 years and finally make $250,000 for a brief window in time." Continue reading →

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The Link Between High Tax Rates and Corruption

"Let’s pretend we have a modest tax rate of 20 percent. Now imagine you are part of an industry with $200 million in profits and you want a special tax break. How much are you willing to pay to get that loophole? Well, with a 20 percent tax, the most you can save is $40 million. So how much would you spend on lobbyists, campaign contributions, etc, in order to get that loophole? One thing we can safely assume is that the industry would never spend more than $40 million. But let’s now assume you live in a world with 50 percent tax rates. Does that change the incentive for influence peddling in Washington? Of course it does." Continue reading →

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Despite Tax Increase, California State Revenues in Freefall

"California State Controller John Chiang has announced that total state revenue for the month of November 2012 fell $806.8 million, or 10.8%, below budget. Voters thought they could hammer 'the rich' by passing Proposition 30 to create the highest state income tax in the nation. But it now appears that high income earners have already 'voted with their feet' by moving themselves and their businesses out of state, resulting in over $1 billion shortfall in corporate and income taxes last month and the beginning of a new financial crisis." Continue reading →

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Behind Google’s mission to map the world

"Eight years ago, Google bought a cool little graphics business called Keyhole, which had been working on 3D maps. Along with the acquisition came Brian McClendon, aka 'Bam', a tall and serious Kansan who in a previous incarnation had supplied high-end graphics software that Hollywood used in films including Jurassic Park and Terminator 2. It turned out to be a very smart move. Today McClendon is Google’s Mr Maps – presiding over one of the fastest-growing areas in the search giant’s business, one that has recently left arch-rival Apple red-faced and threatens to make Google the most powerful company in mapping the world has ever seen." Continue reading →

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US Small Business Owners’ Hiring Intent Plunges to 2008 Lows

"U.S. small-business owners expect to add fewer net new jobs over the next 12 months than at any time since the depths of the 2008-2009 recession, according to this November's Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey. Small-business owners' net hiring intentions for the next 12 months plunged to -4 in November, down from +10 in July and matching the previous record low recorded by the Wells Fargo/Small Business Index of -4 in November 2008." Continue reading →

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Former Microsoft exec plans high-end marijuana business

"A former Microsoft executive and Washington state resident is planning to enter the upscale marijuana business, in the hopes that it will help bring some respectability to the industry, reported KiroTV. Jamen Shively plans to name his business after his grandfather, who supplied hemp rope to the Spanish Armada at the time of the Spanish-American War. 'By creating the category of premium marijuana, we want to position it similar to a fine cognac, a fine brandy, a fine cigar,' Shively told KiroTV." Continue reading →

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