Mainstream News

China defies IMF on mounting credit risk and need for urgent reform

"As you can see from the first chart, total credit has jumped from 129pc to 195pc of GDP since 2008, and has completely departed from its historic trend. The great mistake, plainly, was to keep the foot on the floor in 2010 and 2011, long after the Lehman crisis had subsided. The deeper thrust of the IMF report is that the growth model of the past 30 years is exhausted. The low-hanging fruit has been picked. If the Communist Party fails to take radical action, it will soon be caught in the middle income trap. Loans have jumped from $9 trillion to $23 trillion since 2008, a faster pace of debt build-up than in any major episode of the past century." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina defies IMF on mounting credit risk and need for urgent reform

India takes drastic steps to defend rupee as global Fed shock deepens

"The country’s central bank raised a key funding rate 200 basis points to 10.25pc and took steps to drain money from India’s financial system, even though the economy is stalling and risks a hard landing. Foreign funds have been selling India debt at a record pace since late May, causing a 7pc fall in the rupee. Brazil and Indonesia have both had to tighten policy after a sharp slide in their currencies. Turkey signalled this week that it can longer afford to keep burning foreign reserves to protect the lira, and may have to raise interest rates instead. Nomura said India’s clamp-down is comparable to the funding squeeze last month by China’s central bank." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia takes drastic steps to defend rupee as global Fed shock deepens

Indian gems, jewellery exports fall 41% in June on gold shortage

"India's gems and jewellery exports fell about 41 per cent year-on-year to $2.3 billion in June, 2013 on account of shortage of gold and limited inventory in domestic market. In June last year, these exports stood at $4 billion, according to the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). 'The exports declined drastically in June as there was a shortage of raw-material for jewellery manufacturing. This was because the government had taken steps to curb gold imports,' GJEPC chairman Vipul Shah said. The major markets for the country's jewellery exports are the US, Europe, Middle-East, Hong Kong and Japan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian gems, jewellery exports fall 41% in June on gold shortage

Ex-Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta fined $13.9 million for insider trading

"A federal judge Wednesday ordered former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta to pay a $13.9 million penalty related to insider trading. The SEC’s case against Gupta concerns alleged civil violations stemming from his communications with former Galleon hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam. In a parallel criminal case, a New York jury in June 2012 convicted Gupta of spilling boardroom secrets to Rajaratnam. In addition to his spot on the Goldman Sachs board, Gupta had been head of the renowned consultancy McKinsey & Co and a director of Procter & Gamble, making him one of the most successful Indian immigrants in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta fined $13.9 million for insider trading

$92 quadrillion: PayPal accidentally makes man a quadrillionaire

"Since the brief blunder, Reynolds, who works at the PR firm he co-founded with his wife (Reynolds Ink), says he has had some time to think about what he would have done with $92 quadrillion. The first thing he would have spent the money on was not a sports car, a vacation home, or even an early retirement. 'I’d want to pay down the US’ national debt. That’s been really bugging me,' Reynolds says." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$92 quadrillion: PayPal accidentally makes man a quadrillionaire

Swiss top the tables for household savings

"Switzerland tops a list compiled by Handelsblatt for money saved on average by average households. The Swiss put aside 17.5 percent of gross income into savings last year. This may not be entirely surprising given that incomes in the mountain country are three to four times as high as in most European countries. Switzerland’s unemployment rate of 2.9 percent in June compares with an average in the European Union of 12.1 percent in May, according to Eurostat. The report highlights a growing divide between wealthy northern countries and poorer countries in southern Europe. In Greece, the rate was negative 6.4 percent as citizens dug into existing reserves." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss top the tables for household savings

10 things Social Security won’t tell you: The truth about the agency’s bottom line

"About a third of workers in their 50s expect Social Security benefits to be their primary source of income in retirement. The Social Security Administration itself has said that unless something is done to reform the system, it will have to reduce benefit payments to retirees within the next few decades. Less talked about, perhaps, is the concern that the program is having a hard time paying its bills today. In 2010, the Social Security Administration began collecting less revenue in taxes than it needs to cover benefit payments, forcing the agency to tap its $2.7 trillion trust fund sooner than some had expected." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10 things Social Security won’t tell you: The truth about the agency’s bottom line

10 things baby boomers won’t tell you: The aging Me generation is still putting itself first

"Boomers are expected to live longer than any previous generation. At the same time, many haven’t saved nearly enough for retirement. More than 44% of early boomers (defined as those born between 1948 and 1954) and 43% of late boomers (born between 1955 and 1964) may not be able to afford basic living expenses in retirement. [..] Nearly one in six people ages 45 to 64 say that paying for their kid’s college tuition got in the way of saving for their own retirement. That’s not surprising, given that the typical middle-income family will spend more than $230,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18, up 23% (in today’s dollars) since 1960." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10 things baby boomers won’t tell you: The aging Me generation is still putting itself first

Fearful Indian schoolchildren refuse free school meals after 22 die, dozens sickened

"India’s state governments run the world’s largest school feeding programme involving 120 million children. Bihar is one of India’s most populated and poorest states. Educators see the scheme as a way to increase school attendance, in a country where almost half of all young children are undernourished. But children often suffer from food poisoning due to poor hygiene in kitchens and occasionally sub-standard food. Authorities have instructed all teachers and cooks in the state to first taste the free lunch before serving to the children. 'We will have to make parents believe that mid-day meals provide nutrition and are not meant to kill students,' said Lakshmanan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFearful Indian schoolchildren refuse free school meals after 22 die, dozens sickened

‘Frustrated’ Monsanto withdraws all EU approval requests for new GMO crops

"The move reflects the frustration felt by many biotech companies towards the EU's approval system for GMOs. Decisions routinely face years of delays, and only three varieties have ever been given the green light for cultivation. While Monsanto's MON810 maize has been approved for cultivation throughout the EU, several countries including France, Germany and most recently Italy have imposed national bans, driven by strong public opposition to the technology. Last year, German biotech producer BASF halted the development of genetically modified crops in Europe and moved all of its European GMO research operations to the United States." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Frustrated’ Monsanto withdraws all EU approval requests for new GMO crops