RBI Increases CRR, Kicked off its War against Inflation
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kicked off its war against inflation and build-up of inflationary pressures by announcing a surprise increase of 75 basis points in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR).
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Cash reserve ratio is the minimum liquid assets, banks have to retain against deposits or park with the central bank in the form of government securities.
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The CRR will be hiked in two stages : 50 basis points from Feb 13 and another 25 basis from Feb 27 – from the present 5 percent, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D Subbarao told.
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However, in a cautious move not to disrupt the money supply, the RBI left the key policy rates – repo and reverse repo – unchanged.
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“As a result of this increase in the CRR, about Rs.36,000 crore of excess liquidity will be absorbed from the system,” Subbarao added, as he presented the third quarterly update of the central bank’s monetary policy for this fiscal.
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Subbarao said the cut in excess liquidity will help anchor inflationary expectations and that the recovery process of the economy will be supported without compromising on price stability.
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As inflation was steadily growing and the economy was slowly returning to higher growth trajectory, it was expected that the RBI would tighten monetary policy.
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But the 75-bps hike, according to investors, is a “more hawkish” move than many expected.
The market had expected and was prepared for a 50-bps hike.
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Central bank has said the action was necessary as the “rapidly rising” food inflation was putting pressure on other sectors as well.
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India’s inflation jumped to 7.31 percent in December, 2009 from 4.78 percent in November, mainly driven by high food prices.
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The questions cropping up as a result of this move are :
-Will this move by the central bank going to check the inflation?
-Moreover, what implications this step holds for the economic growth?
Good afternoon, common sense Americans, This is Jim Morrow with the real common sense commentary. An old man was fuming because his Sunday paper had not been delivered. He called the paper, and after being on hold for 20 minutes, he barked at the operator and said where is the blankety-blank Sunday paper? “Today is only Saturday sir.’” And then dead silence. “Well, blankety-blank, no wonder no one was at Church!”
Listen to these getting old, e-mail tips.
Number one : Throw out non-essential numbers, this includes age, weight, and height, Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
Number two: keep only cheerful friends, the grouches will pull you down.
Number three: keep learning: learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle, an idle brain is the devil’s workshop.
Number four: Enjoy the simple things.
Number five: laugh often, long, and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
Number six: Tears happen .Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire lives is ourselves. Be alive while you are alive.
Number seven: surround yourself with what you love, whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, hobbies whatever. Your home is your refuge.
Number 8: Cherish your health, if it is good, preserve it, if it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
Number nine: Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but not where the guilt is.
Number ten: Tell people you love, that you love them at every opportunity, and always remember; life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Like the following: an old man bumped into another old man at the beach one day. He said; “sorry,I’m looking for my wife and I guess I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” The second old guy says, “that’s okay, it’s a coincidence, I’m looking for my wife too. I can’t find her and I’m getting a little desperate The first old guys says, “ well, maybe I can help you find her. What does she look like’?
The second old man said “she is 27 years old, tall, with red hair, blue eyes, longlegs, and is wearing short shorts. What does your wife look like?” The first old man says: “doesn’t matter, lets find your wife!”
Enjoy some humorous colloquialisms and satire, and secrets of success with my books and songs. Click www.commonsensecommentary.com or write 7042 hwy 9 nine, Anniston Alabama. Thats www.commonsensecommentary.com or 7042 hwy nine, Anniston Alabama,
36207. Join us at 12:45 Tomorrow For common sense commentary.
If you think there’s nothing you can do about what is happening to our country, you are probably right. But if you are anything like me, you can do something. You can help me to get the common sense, keep it simple, word to anyone that will listen.. Ihave written two books and four songs in Common sense language that you will enjoy. I own the domain name for the worldwide website Www.commonsensecommentary.com. Your comments are available to the entire world. You can help me get our common sense message out to the public in other states. Help them throw out their liberal Judas goat politicians, Then establish common sense, keep it simple government. My recordings are 9.95 and the books are 19.95 and 29.95. Go to the contact us link: www.commonsensecommentary.com or write to 7042 how a nine Anniston 36207.
The socialist Democrats have lost two governors races and Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat since November. They tried to use the blame Bush tactic in all three races. Has the “ blame Bush “game run its course? Democrats said that invoking Bush’s name doesn’t have the same impact now, in part for a fairly obvious reason: He’s not in charge anymore..continued…
Moms, Dads, Grandparents we started a forum just for you!! Visit MomsandDadsBeHeard.Org soon! 2010 is a MUST year to be involved. No longer can we sit back and allow our rights to disappear. The 2010 elections may be the deciding factor of America remaining a free Republic or becoming the next 3rd world Banana Republic. Get involved, come speak out!!
Subsidised lies: “Verges came to Barcelona wearing a Fascist shirt, a Catalan in favour of Franco, he made money in the depths of Fascism” (Miquel Pairoli). The liberal truth: Publisher Verges wore a military uniform, like anyone his age. The (obligatory) Fascist in Destino, Ignasi Agusti, publisher Verges managed to throw out in the fifties. Destino was the most censored magazine and banned for two months in 1967. Picture of the editorial offices assaulted by the Fascists during the Second World War for supporting the Allies against Hitler. Below: The editor of the liberal newspaper The Guardian Alan Rusbridger thinks the same as liberal publisher Josep Verges: Freedom has a future.
One of the most subsidised papers in Catalonia has an op ed attacking publisher Josep Verges, my father. Contradictory El Punt also lauded his centenary exhibition and how he was persecuted by the Fascist regime in Spain. The worst crime of my father according to Miquel Pairoli: “Profit sense.” The editor of liberal The Guardian agrees with my liberal father: liberty makes business sense (Search Verges Centenary in Biblioteca Catalunya):
“The Murdoch and New York Times business model says that we must charge for all content online. The argument is that the age of free is over. If you universally make people pay it follows that you are no longer open to the rest of the world, except at a cost, reducing access and influence. It removes you from the way people the world over now connect with each other. You cannot control distribution or create scarcity without becoming isolated from this new networked world. We may all want to charge for specialist, highly-targeted, hard-to-replicate content. For universal charging to work, every news organisation would have to put all content behind a pay wall. The digital share of the advertising cake is going to grow very sharply and significantly. My commercial colleagues at the Guardian want to grow a large audience and can’t see the benefits of choking off growth. Last year we earned £25m from digital advertising –not trivial. We would earn a fraction of that from any known pay wall model. Journalists have never before been able to tell stories so effectively, bouncing off each other, linking out, citing sources, allowing response –harnessing the best qualities of text, print, data, sound and visual media. If ever there was a route to building audience, trust and relevance, it is by embracing all the capabilities of this new world, not walling yourself away from them. Many readers like this ability to follow conversations, compare multiple sources and links. The result is journalistically better –a collaborative-as-well-as-competitive approach which is usually likely to get to the truth of things, faster. When I think about universal pay walls, I wonder how this emerging world of editing and writing would change. How would you handle a story like the Guardian’s exclusive revelation that Google was about to drop censorship in China? If you erect a universal pay wall around your content then it follows you are turning away from a world of openly shared content. The whole world is in the middle of a revolution. Everything shows up on screens. Technologies have helped develop a generation of fierce independence; of openness; of inclusion; biased towards free expression and strong views; used to immediacy; preoccupied with trust. In this open and immediate world people are realising they can be publishers, that they don’t need intermediaries. Mention Google, and we think of China: the spread of disorganised information versus organised disinformation and censorship. We know what side we must be fighting on. The Guardian on the web is the second English newspaper in the world, read by 37 million –a third each in the UK, America and the rest of the world. In 1956 the worldwide sales of the Guardian were 650. There is an irreversible trend in society today about how people are expressing themselves, about how societies will choose to organise themselves, about a new democracy of ideas and information, about changing notions of authority, about the releasing of individual creativity, about an ability to hear previously unheard voices, about respecting, including and harnessing the views of others, about resisting the people who want to close down free speech. If we turn our back on all this, we will be sleep walking into oblivion.”
(“Does journalism exist?” by Alan Rusbridger, The Hugh Cudlipp lecture, The Guardian, 25 January, “Vergés,” by Miquel Pairoli, El Punt, 24 January, “La Biblioteca de Catalunya exposa l’editor de Josep Pla. Compara un número segrestat i la versió censurada de Destino,” El Punt, 11 January 2010)
Voluntat de negoci i premsa lliure
El director del diari liberal The Guardian Alan Rusbridger pensa igual que l’editor liberal Josep Vergés: la llibertat té futur. Primera foto: La mentida subvencionada: “Vergés va arribar a Barcelona amb camisa blava, un català de Franco, va fer diners en ple franquisme” (Miquel Pairolí). La veritat liberal: L’editor Vergés anava de militar, com tothom a la seva edat. El falangista (obligatori) de Destino, Ignasi Agustí, l’editor Vergés el va poder treure als cinquanta. Destino fou la revista més censurada i clausurada dos mesos el 1967. Foto de la redacció saquejada pels feixistes durant la Segona Guerra Mundial per donar suport als aliats contra Hitler.
Un dels diaris més subvencionats de Catalunya publica un article d’opinió atackant l’editor Josep Vergés, el meu pare. El contradictori El Punt abans havia alabat l’exposició del seu centenar i com havia estat perseguit pel règim feixista d’Espanya. El pitjor crim del meu pare segons Miquel Pairolí: “Voluntat de negoci.” El director del liberal The Guardian està d’acord amb el meu pare liberal: la llibertat té sentit comercial (Veure search Centenari Vergés a la Biblioteca de Catalunya):
“El model comercial de Murdoch i del New York Times vol ser cobrar per tot el contingut per xarxa. L’argument és que l’era del tot gratis s’ha acabat. Però si fas que tothom pagui la consequència serà que ja no estàs obert a la resta del món, si no paguen, reduint l’accès i l’influència. T’apartes de la manera com la gent de tot el món avui es connecta mutuament. No pots controlar la distribució o crear escassetat sense trobar-te aillat d’aquest nou món en xarxa. Potser sí que pots cobrar per un contingut especialista, ben orientat i difícil de copiar. Però perquè funcioni el cobro a tothom, totes les empreses de notícies haurien de posar els seus continguts darrera una barrera de peatge. El pes digital del pastís publicitari creixerà ràpidament i significativa. Els meus col.legues comercials del Guardian volen que creixem fins tenir una gran audiència i no veuen cap benefici en escanyar el creixement. L’any passat ingressàrem €30 milions per la publicitat digital –que no és trivial. Obtindriem una fracció d’aixó en qualsevol alternativa coneguda de barrera de peatge. Els periodistes mai en la història han pogut explicar les notícies tan efectivament, rebotant-se uns als altres, connectant, citant fonts, obrint-se a respostes –aprofitant les millors qualitats dels medis escrits, impressos, estadístics, parlats i visuals. Si mai ha existit una ruta per construir una audiència rellevant i fiable és adoptant totes les possibilitats d’aquest nou món i no tancant-se d’ell. Són molts els lectors que volen aquesta possibilitat de seguir la conversa, comparant fonts i connexions variades. El resultat periodístic millora per l’aproximació col.laboradora, a més de competitiva, que acaba ben segur per trobar ràpidament la veritat de les coses. Quan penso en les barreres universals de peatge, em pregunto quins canvis provocaria en aquest món emergent d’edició i redacció. Com podria tractar-se una notícia com la revelació exclusiva del Guardian que Google estava a punt d’abandonar la censura a Xina? Si muntes una barrera universal de peatge sobre el teu contingut la consequència serà que dones l’espatlla a un món de contingut obertament compartit. Tot el mòn està immers en una revolució. Tot apareix en pantalla. La tecnologia ha permès el desenvolupament d’una generació intensament independent, oberta, inclusiva, esbiaxada cap a la llibertat d’expressió i les idees valentes, habituada a la immediatesa, preocupada per la confiança. En aquest món obert i immediat tohom pot ser editor i no necessita intermediaris. Seguim parlant de Google i Xina, o la difusió d’informació no organitzada contra la desinformació i censura organitzada. Nosaltres sabem en quin bàndol hem de lluitar. El Guardian per internet és el segon diari anglès del món, llegit per 37 milions –un terç per parts a Anglaterra, Amèrica i la resta del món. El 1956 les vendes a la resta del món del Guardian foren 650. Hi ha una tendència irreversible en la societat d’avui sobre com la gent s’expressa, sobre com les societats escullen organitzar-se, sobre la nova democràcia de les idees i la informació, sobre els conceptes canviants de l’autoritat, sobre l’alliberament de la creativitat individual, sobre l’habilitat d’escoltar veus que abans no se les escoltava, sobre el respecte, la inclusió i la utilització de les opinions dels altres, sobre la resistència contra els que volen acabar amb la llibertat d’opinió. Si ens hi girem d’esquena, anirem sonàmbuls cap a l’oblit.”
(“Does journalism exist?” per Alan Rusbridger, conferència Hugh Cudlipp, The Guardian, 25 gener, “Vergés,” per Miquel Pairolí, El Punt, 24 gener, “La Biblioteca de Catalunya exposa l’editor de Josep Pla. Compara un número segrestat i la versió censurada de Destino,” El Punt, 11 gener 2010)
On the afternoon of January 12, 2010, Haiti was ruined by an earthquake in ten seconds. There were no winners, only losers. For nine years, the U.S. has been waging war against the very Jahadis it helped to create during the Cold War, and the Taliban who gave them a toehold in Afghanistan. Again, no winners, only losers. Looking ahead, in fifty years low-lying shores on every continent will bear scars inflicted by rising seas, upland areas suffer droughts and massive extinctions. Devastation will be the rule, not the exception. Over the long- or short-term, every unique life leads to the same end—in each case unknown. There is no way to evade personal ruin. Life will invariably cease, cells disintegrate. No winners, only losers, unless . . . .
For such minds as can grasp this inescapable scenario, there is only one way to respond: Act at all times in such a way to create as many islands and oases of order, compassion, and social justice as possible to offset the inevitable. Otherwise, the miracle of life has no meaning, or is at best a forlorn hope.
Beset by, and causing, devastation, we live fleetingly in denial, pretending we can sidestep our fate, believing in life after death, the healing power of personal wealth, that deeds can bestow immortality, that death can be deterred, outrun, or defeated. All of which sap our will for doing good rather than simply answering the roll for as long as we can when our name is called.
Living as long as we can is not a good in itself. It’s what we accomplish—what we actually do—in whatever time we are allowed that really matters. What we do for those we leave behind. The certainty of moving from the column of the living to the dead is, in fact, not only our fate but our greatest gift. The tragedy in Haiti is not that life is cut short but, in addition to suffering, that there is no pattern to which people are felled: children, adults, and the aged are equally susceptible. That, together with the violent nature of each death and the utter lack of help, produces chaos, the very opposite of social order. We saw lesser versions in the felling of the Twin Towers, looting of Iraq in the calm after the initial assault, and in New Orleans during and after the passing of Hurricane Katrina.
In better days, mortality is our greatest strength because it frames each day as an opportunity, not a time to endure. It can motivate us to get off our butts and do something positive with whatever skills and energy we can muster on the spot. If death cannot be avoided, we are wise to make the most of what little time we have. Truism, yes, but a compelling one. None packs greater punch. Go for it, live each day to the max! Later is not good enough; now is my time to engage and to act. Not for self because self is invariably a dead end, but for those left behind. For the thread of life that survives us, not our narrow little life.
Norwegian eco-philosopher Arne Naess, inventor of deep ecology, said, “Think globally, act locally.” I add to that, Shape eternity, act in the now. Those who look ahead to consorting with forty virgins in paradise, or sitting on a cloud sipping margaritas, are committing the ultimate category error. Death is the end of consciousness as we know it, the absolute end. All else is myth, fantasy, or delusion. The test of our deeds is the world that lives after us. That is basic Darwinism. The measure of our success is the life (in the largest sense) we make possible. Not only in our genetic line, but in the natural conditions within which it survives. If we steal Earth’s wealth for ourselves today, mere money will not provide for our descendants tomorrow. The meaning or import of mortality—the 100% certainty of our end—is gauged by the living potential we are to leave, not the resources we take unto ourselves. Money in stocks or the bank is life converted to dead notes. It stands for consumption and death, not survival.
Consciousness is a sure sign of life, the realization of biologically-derived human values (reproduction, metabolism, homeostasis, safety, etc.) through actions appropriate to life-giving surroundings. For the self, life is a matter of giving away, not taking from others. That is, it promotes authentic possibilities for action—actions that do not limit life’s choices tomorrow, but maintain or expand them. Acting in the now with eternity in mind is called stewardship. The Na’vi in Avatar live (if fictional creatures can be said to live) in that realization. More accurately, they represent that realization in James Cameron’s consciousness. Jahadi suicide bombers do just the opposite by destroying the possibilities of even their own lives and as many infidels as they can ruin along with themselves.
Now is my time on Earth, my time to live, my time to build a future for all life consciously and deliberately. I don’t have answers to many of the riddles and contradictions life throws at me, but collectively, cumulatively, we can share some few of those answers among us. Each can contribute her coherent actions to the body of the whole, and all draw wisdom and appreciation from that whole as needed. Give-and-take is the nature of our engagement on Earth. An engagement that will come to a definite end. Period. End of life. Maybe eight minutes from now, maybe tomorrow, maybe in fifty-three years. The point is not to obsess over but to deal with that certainty by building a life for ourselves, for those we love, for those we don’t know, and all members of other species. Then, when smitten, we will at least have done our best by Earth and its passengers for the long haul.
Which is far different from the life capitalistic assumptions and thinking would have us live. Capitalism is a farce, a heavy-handed caricature or cartoon of how to get ahead in life. It is drawn by the asset-rich to lure the asset-poor into their employ. It is a class-based system, dividing rather than uniting us. We now think of our lives in terms of the jobs we are offered rather than how we treat other people and other species through our stewardship practices. Sure, we get good at what we do, and earn money in the process, but that is not why we’re here. We are not born warriors, mechanics, or seamstresses, we are born Earthlings who must steward their gifts if they are to survive. We are meant to accrue an understanding of Earth’s truths, not wealth in and for itself. We are meant to act positively on behalf of life itself, not negatively for self alone. We are meant to create organic order, not the mechanized chaos we do by waging wars around the globe—as if that furthered the interests of life in any way whatsoever. There are no such things as natural resources meant for our taking; that is a fundamental category error. Consciousness is an emergent aspect of life itself, a self-contained guidance system. That, our bodies, surrounding communities, and natural environments are what we are given to work with and make the most of where we are. Now, not later on.
What I am trying to say is that ruined hope for a better future is a more accurate measure of any disaster than property losses or body counts. Hope lives in human consciousness as an urge toward a brighter light ahead. True wealth tells the capacity for hope based on possibilities for constructive action in today’s world. Husbandry and stewardship create hope; monetary wealth devastates hope through possibilities removed from the commons. Haiti lying in ruin from a shift in tectonic plates is tantamount to Iraq and Afghanistan lying in ruin from America flaunting its military might. We could not have prevented the one, but could have the others by holding eternity in mind. By making the most of our individual gifts rather than the least through flexing our military-industrial capacity for inflicting devastation and despair. Consciousness is given us as a gift; unfortunately the instruction manual—our living habitat or environment—is now largely made over by us, leaving us separated not only from nature but our own gift for life. With the result we are dead before our time, carrying on, true—but doing so ideologically, not weighing the moment and engaging the living Earth instead of our rote and sorry depiction of it.
Earth is rocked by enough natural disasters as it is without humanity inflicting additional devastation of its own devising. What we need is more compassion, sharing, healing, and hope such as are conveyed by our heritage of survival, and enabled by awareness of our common Earthling predicament. Taking the long view, keeping Earth’s evolving, biological eternity in mind, equips us to cope with natural disasters when they come upon us. That way we work with one another rather than against by taking more than our share, adding our small effort, heightening the possibility that, with or without us, life on Earth just may have a future.
We have more data, computers, educated people, a wealth of history and yet I see something disturbing happening.
A repeat of the dirty thirties appears to be very close at hand.
First the economy goes for a slide, people lose jobs and their homes and possessions, companies go broke, governments are in financial trouble, spending too much and their incomes are down.
In frustration, anti immigration, protectionism, racism, pockets of lawlessness become rampant.
This world is a shaking in fear, the system is collapsing.
Like a big stone wheel which started rolling. It cannot stop, crushing objects as it rolls along until it’s journey is ended. That is what is happening or appears to be happening.
It looks like the consequences of actions past are catching up to the world.
Apparently, it’s business as usual in Washington. We should know better by now, once these crooks find a way to grab a big chunk of public money, they are not going to easily give it back. At least 13 Democrats are starting to see that they are an endangered species and voted in favor of the amendment to stop the Treasury Department from releasing the $300+ billion that still remains.
To be clear, this amendment was to be attached to the bill boosting the federal debt limit by another $1.9 trillion!
WASHINGTON — The Senate Thursday killed a Republican attempt to shut down the Wall Street bailout program.
The defeated proposal would have barred the Treasury Department from releasing any funds remaining from the $700 billion bailout passed last fall. It would not have affected repayment rules for banks and other recipients of bailout money.
GOP Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who sponsored the amendment, said repealing Treasury’s bailout authority would block Democrats from using the money to finance spending legislation such as a promised “jobs” bill. Thune said about $320 billion is still available./p>
The proposal garnered 53 votes, more than half of the Senate, but fell short of the 60 votes required to adopt it under the agreement by which it was afforded a vote. The majority vote probably means it won’t be the last time the senate debates the issue.
“The American people, I think, have made it clear that they’re tired of the bailouts,” Thune said.
via Senate rejects GOP bid to end TARP payments – 1/21/10 – San Francisco News – abc7news.com.
China on Path to Become Second-Largest Economy.BEIJING — China said on Thursday that its economy rose by 10.7 percent in fourth quarter compared with a year ago, as the country continued to surge forward even as many other nations are still trying to punch through the global recession. That was up from a revised growth rate of 9.1 percent in the third quarter.
Congratulations Chris Christie!
“New Jersey, you voted for change. And today, change has arrived,” Christie said in his speech at the Trenton War Memorial, steps from the Statehouse.
He repeated those four words – today, change has arrived – throughout his address.
And on the very same day, Massachusetts elects Republican Senator Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy’s seat!
Congratulations Scott Brown!
Hey Washington… You-Hoo! Can you hear us NOW???
MMMMMMM-MMMMMMM-MMMMMMM!
The IRS form to claim the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and the $6,500 tax credit for long-time residents has finally been published by the IRS. We have the form and the instructions available on our web site.
Follow this link to our web site and click on the link at the bottom of the home page. There is also a link just below the link to the tax credit form that will take you to the instructions for completing the form.
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Shelli Dore
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…Remember! The next time you are in a conversation with someone who is thinking about a move – IN ANY CITY OR STATE IN THE US OR CANADA – call me first! I can help make sure your friends, family members and work associates are very well taken care of.
As audience members streamed out of Pres. Obama’s rally on behalf of AG Martha Coakley (D) here tonight, the consensus was that the fault for Coakley’s now-floundering MA SEN bid lies with one person — George W. Bush.
“People are upset because there’s so many problems,” Rosemary Kverek, 70, a retired Charleston schoolteacher said as tonight’s rally wrapped up. “But the problems came from the previous administration. So we’re blaming poor Obama, who’s working 36 hours a day … to solve these problems that he inherited.”
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper, and has been a journalist for 49 years.
545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don’t propose a federal budget.
The president does.
You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.
The House of Representatives does.
You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices–545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes. Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con game regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted–by present facts–of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.
If the Marines are in IRAQ, it’s because they want them in IRAQ.
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like ‘the economy,’ ‘inflation,’ or ‘politics’ that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.
1. You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope they do something about it.
2. You can agree to vote against everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.
3. You can decide to run for office yourself and agree to do the job properly.
4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.
When people can no longer afford where they live, when people start taking the bus, when adults start moving back in with their parents, or share apartments with others they hardly know, when people start renting out rooms in order to pay their electricity bill, and banks don’t know what to do with repossessed homes, when this takes place on a wide scale and for many years to come, when the State can’t collect enough to cover its bills and has to cut vital services not replacing retiring workers… it is that a nation is getting poorer, losing its wealth, or at least the one it thought it had, but probably never quite had.
So what we’re seeing everywhere really, is countries and people getting poorer, getting stuck once more with and in a huge underclass, all that whipped up wealth melting snow under a forbidding sun.
Of course, it’s nice to do well for a while, except most forget this is the exception not the rule, living high off the hog too long. Some taking it philosophically, others not so well, after the bubble bursts. The question is do we want to live like this, on the run, under exciting but explosive bubblenomics or taking a step back, living more evenly, not stepping around the returning homeless, on our sidewalks.
When economic growth collapsed in 1990, Japanese consumers became famously frugal, and the domestic market still hasn’t recovered. Neither has the stock market, for that matter: “The Nikkei is 44.3% below where it stood at the end of 1999. It is 72.9% below its peak near the end of 1989.” The performance of the bond market, meanwhile, has been a mirror image, rallying 78% since 1990.
The resulting decline in real interest rates has combined with economic stagnation to produce a perennial state of deflation. In fact, prices are once again falling, this time by an annualized pace of 2%.
As many economists have been quick to diagnose, the problem lies in a tremendous (perhaps the world’s largest) imbalance between savings and investment, as “Japan still has ¥1,500 trillion ($16.3 trillion) of savings.” It’s not clear how long this can last, however, as Japanese demographic changes tax the nation’s pool of savings. “More than a fifth of Japanese are over 65…The nation’s population began shrinking in 2006 from 127.8 million, and will drop by 3.2 percent in the coming decade.”
This brings me to the final component of Japan’s perfect economic storm: debt. Japan’s gross national debt is projected by the IMF to touch 225% of GDP this year, and 250% as early as 2014. As a result of the aging population, the pool of cash available for lending to the government is shrinking at the same rate as the tax base, which is exerting fiscal pressure on the government from both sides. According to one commentator, “Japan’s fiscal conditions are close to a melting point.” Another frets: “I doubt there is any yield that international capital markets can find acceptable that will not bankrupt the Japanese state.”
What is the government doing about all of this? Frankly, not too much. It is spending money like crazy – exacerbating its fiscal state and pushing it closer to insolvency – in a (vain) attempt to prime the economic pump and avoid deflation from further entrenching. The Central Bank, meanwhile, just announced a new round of quantitative easing, also aimed at fighting deflation. At only 2% of GDP, however, the measures are “pretty tame” and unlikely to accomplish much. Considering that its monetary base has only expanded by 5% this year (compared to 71% in the US), it still has plenty of scope to operate. At the present time, however, it is still reluctant to do so.
Ironically, the aging population phenomenon could end up restoring Japan’s economy to equilibrium. The worse Japan’s fiscal problems become, the sooner it will be forced to simply print money, so as to deflate its debt and avoid default. This will stimulate the economy and put upward pressure on prices (solving two problems), and exert strong downward pressure on the Yen. The way I see it, that’s four birds with one stone!
As for the Yen, then, I would expect it to hover over the near-term, since price stability and a strong credit rating don’t signal immediate catastrophe. No, Japan’s economic problems are more long-term, which means it could be a while before they more clearly manifst themselves.
The Mythical 95% Failure Rate in MLM/Network Marketing
Ever heard this one? “95% of people who try those MLM schemes fail!”
It’s a myth.
Of the 100% of those who become distributors in a network marketing company, about 10% actually stick with it long enough and learn the skills necessary to succeed.
Funny thing is, the same percentages hold in all independent endeavors! For example:
Over 50% of college freshmen drop out after their first year!
Real Estate Agents: They spend about $1000 to go to school. They spend $250-500 to get their license. 60% drop out without ever selling a house.
Life Insurance Agents: Spend several months in on the job training, and in many states have to take an exam. 60% or more only sell one life insurance policy, and that is to themselves.
Mortgage Loan Officers: 70-80% drop out without ever writing a loan.
Car Salespersons: 80-90% of new salespersons here drop out without ever selling a car. Call your local car dealer!
Discovering a pattern here? The same skills it takes to succeed in independent sales you will use to succeed in network marketing.
So, get on with learning those skills that can make you rich!
Coakley to Fundraisers: ‘If I Don’t Win, 2010 Is Going To Be Hell For Democrats.’
One of the Campaign Spot’s multitude of spies — yes, we have a separate Directorate of Intelligence – infiltrated Martha Coakley’s fundraiser in Washington, D.C. tonight.
My spy passes along word that Coakley herself fired up the crowd with this inspiring line: “If I don’t win, 2010 is going to be hell for Democrats… Every Democrat will have a competitive race.”
Her defeat was also described as “Waterloo for health care.”
As a column over at Investors Business Daily points out, the ponzi scheme that is “Social Security,” is collapsing far ahead of the original schedule for 2019. This is extremely serious and yet no one in Washington is even talking about it right now. Yet, in secret, they are crafting some kind of takeover of the medical system and increased expenditure from the Federal Treasury. Either we start creating jobs (aka “funding source for the gov’ment”) or we will have to sharply curtail benefits.
This wasn’t an ordinary summit. This came at the heels of Indian General’s irrational statement about a joint war with China and India. Analyst would give an arm and a leg to be fly on the wall listening to what the Pakistani and Chinese Generals were discussion. Its not hard to guess. Sanity says that the following subjects must have come up.
It is pedagogical to note that the Chinese did not respond to General Kapoors statements. They did however repond in typical Chinese low key fasion—with a Pakistani Chinese military summit.
Silence is Golden!
1) General Kapoor and his Cold War insanity–and its counter-measures which places the onus on Tactical Nuclear weapons.
2) The regional situation, Afghanistan and Yemen must have come up for discussion.
3) The enhancement of military cooperation would surely have taken the talks to aircraft cooperation beyond the J-10s and J-11–towards J-14s.
4) Gwader and Central Asia and the road network would have come up at the strategic level.
5) They must have discussed the cooperation beyond the JF-17 Thunders, P-22 frigates and the Nuclear plans.
Beyond conjecture, The Nation sheds some light on what actually happened.
Islamabad – The 7th round of Pak-China Defence and Security Talks has concluded with emphasis on cementing bilateral military cooperation through mutually beneficial collaboration in operational, training, intelligence, logistics and defence industrial fields including indigenisation projects and joint ventures.
TheNation has learnt from the military sources on Sunday that the both sides during daylong discussions held at Joint Staff Headquarters, Chaklala shared perspectives on the fast evolving regional security situation for developing common insight into the emerging scenarios and coordinating common responses.
Sources said that the discussion focused at the impact of changing global security dynamics, progress in the efforts against terrorism and violent extremism, revised US strategy for Afghanistan, intra-regional disputes and posturing of involved states, and the tenuous spectre of strategic stability in the region.
The discussion also focused on ETIM terrorism related threat and measures for security of the Chinese manpower working in Pakistan.
The two sides also undertook a comprehensive review of bilateral military cooperation and the progress of various ongoing defence projects, making specific proposals for mutually beneficial future collaboration in operational, training, intelligence, logistics and defence industrial fields including indigenisation projects and joint ventures.
The visiting Deputy Chief of General Staff of Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), General Ma Xiaotian led the eight-member Chinese delegation, while Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Tariq Majid led the Pakistani team.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman JCSC, General Tariq Majid extended felicitation on 60th Anniversary of China and lauded a spectacular economic progress and technological modernisation to rise as a reckonable power in the global politics and global economy, playing a crucial stabilisation role in many regions of the world.
He termed time tested multidimensional Pakistan-China strategic partnership as the bedrock of stability in the region and said, “As the world grows more complex and regional situation more challenging, it has become even more critical to add greater depth and dynamism to this relationship”.
Reiterating China’s solidarity and continuing support for Pakistan in meeting the challenges General Ma Xiaotian, Deputy Chief of General Staff, PLA appreciated Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism and violent extremism and stated, “We acknowledge the great sacrifices rendered by Pakistan, its people and the Armed Forces in combating terrorism, for which Pakistan deserves the praise and gratitude of the entire world, indeed the mankind”.
Later in the evening, a banquet was hosted by General Tariq Majid in the honour of General Ma Xiaotian and his delegation which was also attended by senior Pakistani military officers from the three services and officials from the Ministries of Defence and Defence Production.
In view of the American moves into Yemen, Oman and Kenya, Pakistan becomes all the more important for China. Islamabad is under tremendous pressure to give Gwader to the Americans. Pakistan has resisted. The Israelis and the Americans want to use Yemen and Oman as a beachead to pressure Iran. Delhi a willing part of this alliance has already talked about regional reach. After its eviction from tajikistan, it seems to have been shut out of Central Asia by a combined Russian-Chinese and Pakistan move.
Iran, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia have in one week changed the energy map of Asia and Europe. By taking congtrol of Tajik gas and dividing them up between China, Russia and Iran, the Asian powers are asserting control of the energy resources of Central Asia–to the chagrin of Europe and the USA.
If America can get a safe saving victory out of Afghanistan, they may begin to withdraw their forces from the Afghan quagmire.
The next 18 months are going to be extremely important–if the US gets sucked into Yemen, and body bags begin rolling out of the Arabian peninsula, then there is a guarantee of a one term presidency. Mr. Obama will surely try to wage the Yemen war with drones.
Soaked in blood, with huge sacrifices, the Pakistanis and Afghans will wait it out– ’till 2011. Then the tide will begin turning towards victory. With a friendly government in Afghanistan and solid relations with the Tajiks and Uzbeks, a friendly China the entire area will begin moving towards its destiny.
O CARTE FUNDAMENTALA PENTRU ROMANIA
EMIL CONSTANTINESCU- Păcatul originar, sacrificiul fondator-Revoluţia decembrie ‘89
Revoluţia din decembrie ’89: Păcatul originar, sacrificiul fondator este prima carte dintr-o serie de şapte volume dedicate ultimelor două decenii din istoria României. Titlurile provizorii ale celorlalte volume sunt: Mineriadele: Faţa violentă a postcomunismului 1990 – 1999; Democraţia: De la naştere la majorat 1990 – 2007; Ţara ca o pradă: Calea românească spre capitalism 1990 – 2007; Preţul schimbării: Administraţia Constantinescu 1996 – 2000; De la ţara-problemă la model regional: Politica externă 1996 – 2000; Adevărul despre minciună: Manipularea opiniei publice 1989 – 2009.
Sunt necesare aceste cărţi astăzi într-o Românie membră a Uniunii Europene şi a NATO, care a înregistrat zece ani de creştere economică şi se confruntă astăzi cu efectele crizei financiare mondiale? Nu e momentul să întoarcem paginile însângerate ale Revoluţiei din decembrie ’89 şi pe cele controversate ale tranziţiei post-comuniste pentru a ne ocupa de un prezent şi mai ales de un viitor care se anunţă neliniştitor? Sunt de acord şi chiar mă preocupă conturarea unei viziuni, a unei strategii pe termen lung pentru progresul României, dar cred că înainte de a întoarce paginile istoriei recente trebuie să le citim cu atenţie. Pentru că vremurile grele cer o solidaritate socială şi naţională care nu poate fi clădită pe minciună. Realitatea existenţei instituţiilor democratice nu poate ascunde lipsa de încredere în cei care le reprezintă. Performanţele economice nu pot ascunde corupţia. Stabilitatea politică nu poate ascunde lipsa unor ideologii bazate pe idealuri politice care separă partidele de grupurile de interese. Stabilitatea socială nu poate ascunde lipsa de demnitate a celor care acceptă să fie cumpăraţi sau mituiţi la un preţ derizoriu. Şi nici realitatea unei profunde crize morale generate de confuzia valorilor şi de o lipsă a respectului de sine. Toate acestea îşi au originea, după părerea mea, în lipsa de curaj întru asumarea unui trecut pe care nu-l putem schimba, dar pe care, dacă îl înţelegem, îl putem folosi pentru a-i evita erorile şi a construi un viitor mai bun.
Mi-am asumat scrierea acestor cărţi din mai multe motive. Pentru că, printr-un joc al destinului, am avut acces direct la documente esenţiale. Pentru că am avut ocazia să fiu în contact direct cu mari actori ai jocului politic european şi mondial. Pentru că, prin acelaşi joc al destinului, m-am aflat în miezul unor evenimente care au hotărât cursul istoriei ultimelor două decenii. Dar mai ales pentru că pot să spun fără ezitare lucrurile pe care le-am trăit şi pe care le-am aflat, să public informaţii corecte şi documente despre persoane în viaţă care ocupă poziţii cheie în politica, în administraţia şi în economia României. Pot face acest lucru pentru că nu pot fi şantajat cu nimic din trecutul meu. Şi nu pot fi cumpărat cu nici un fel de avantaje pentru prezent sau viitor. O pot face înfruntând pe cei care dirijează opinia publică, pentru că nu mă preocupă nici voturile, nici ratingurile la televiziune care dau notorietate şi apoi, prin confuzie, aduc popularitate şi încredere.
„Cunoaşteţi adevărul şi adevărul vă va face liberi“, ne-a învăţat Mântuitorul. Experienţa regimului totalitar ne-a dovedit că trebuie să fii cu adevărat liber în sinea ta, ca să poţi spune adevărul deschis, tuturor, ceea ce rămâne valabil şi acum când trăim în democraţie şi libertate constituţională.
Până unde trebuie spus adevărul? Până la capăt. Pentru că, aşa cum a scris cunoscutul dizident sovietic, Vassili Grossman, în cartea sa Viaţă şi destin: „Adevărul este unul singur. Nu există două adevăruri. E greu să trăieşti fără adevăr sau cu frânturi, cu o fărâmă de adevăr, cu un adevăr ciuntit, amputat. Numai o parte a adevărului nu reprezintă adevărul.“
De ce scriu abia acum despre aceste adevăruri? Pentru că acum a venit timpul. În 1989 – 1996 m-am aflat în stradă pentru a protesta împotriva comunismului şi a neocomunismului travestit în democraţie. Mi-am consacrat timpul, împreună cu cercurile intelectuale democractice, construirii unui program politic şi moral radical pentru România, ca o alternativă necesară la o reformă de tip gorbaciovist sau la un stat oligarhic, pseudo-democratic şi pseudo-capitalist. A fost o perioadă dură, care nu a lăsat timp reflecţiei, ci doar acţiunii.
În cei patru ani ai mandatului meu de preşedinte al României (1996-2000), m-am străduit să fiu un garant al respectării legilor, al separaţiei puterilor în stat şi al bunei funcţionări a instituţiilor publice şi m-am considerat îndatorat să iau numai acele decizii care corespundeau interesului naţional. Sub presiunea unor evenimente dramatice nu am găsit atunci răgazul de a cerceta în profunzime cauzele unor situaţii mai vechi sau recente, care puneau în pericol pacea, suveranitatea, stabilitatea politică, socială şi economică a ţării pentru că am fost obligat să mă concentrez pe găsirea unor soluţii care nu puteau întârzia. Am stăruit să creez condiţiile pentru ca jurişti, istorici, politologi, sociologi, jurnalişti să poată cerceta aceste cauze folosind cadrul democratic instaurat în cei patru ani în care am condus România. Cei mai mulţi s-au eschivat. Unii, mai puţini, au făcut-o cu demnitate profesională şi morală.
După terminarea mandatului, m-am străduit – e drept fără prea mare succes – să mă opun, în zona civică şi politică, manipulărilor intelectuale care au deformat realitatea ultimelor două decenii în funcţie de interesele unor grupuri şi persoane provenite din fosta Securitate, din nomenclatura PCR şi ale acoliţilor lor. S-a dovedit că am avut dreptate când am susţinut că nu am fost învins de Securitatea „din serviciile de informaţii sau din instituţiile statului“, ci – aşa cum arată textul declaraţiei mele din 1999 – de cei din afara administraţiei care, acaparând mijloace de comunicare şi folosind libertăţile democratice, au putut distorsiona faptele, înlocuind cu neruşinare adevărul prin minciună. Blocat ani la rând în afara zonei comunicării publice, am ales calea editării acestor cărţi, cu speranţa că ele îşi vor găsi cititorii de bună credinţă.
Astăzi, liber de exigenţele unei poziţii oficiale, sunt dator să spun oamenilor, care îşi doresc adevărul, tot ceea ce ştiu. Adevărul despre România anilor 1989-2009 este o mărturie despre suferinţa şi umilinţele unor oameni zdrobiţi de evenimentele acestor ani, despre crimele, rapacitatea şi aroganţa celor care au profitat de ele, dar şi despre cei care au crezut într-un viitor necomunist şi european al României, au luptat pentru el şi au reuşit să-l impună chiar şi acelora care nu l-au dorit. Îmi dau seama că informaţiile şi, mai ales, probele obţinute desenează un tablou al unei realităţi pe care am trăit-o fără ca, de cele mai multe ori, să o înţelegem.
Nu am pretenţia că sunt deţinătorul unui adevăr politic, juridic sau istoric incontestabil, şi sunt gata să discut şi să accept orice documente, fapte sau mărturii care pot lumina mai bine sau chiar altfel realitatea. Educaţia mea ştiinţifică şi religioasă m-a ajutat să cercetez faptele în mod obiectiv, eliberat de ură sau intoleranţă. Recunosc însă o anume încrâncenare în ceea ce am scris venită din durerea unui om care a trăit în miezul evenimentelor şi se simte lovit de acceptarea cinică a crimelor, abuzurilor, corupţiei şi minciunii, sau de indiferenţa la fel de cinică cu care sunt încă privite de către o mare parte a societăţii româneşti.
Conspiraţia tăcerii şi a minciunii, care a sugrumat istoria adevărată a ultimelor decenii şi nu numai, are temeiuri mult mai adânci decât teama de pedeapsă a celor care au comis crime şi abuzuri, sau au profitat de ele. Ele nu se explică nici prin interesul material personal sau de grup al celor care au furat sau au beneficiat de jaful avuţiei naţionale. Sunt resorturi mult mai adânci, care vin din psihologia individuală, din mentalul colectiv. Ele merg de la acceptarea cu uşurinţă a unor falsuri evidente, care pot înjosi viaţa cuiva, până la contestarea unor dovezi clare, care pot înălţa demnitatea cuiva, de la plăcerea inventării minciunilor până la acceptarea perversă de a fi minţit frumos. În acest sens, restituirea adevărului istoric va fi o reparaţie adusă demnităţii naţionale reprezentate de o majoritate tăcută care trăieşte onest, cu conştiinţa respectului de sine.
Am scris aceste cărţi de pe poziţia victimelor minţite sau speriate, care nu-şi cunosc sau nu-şi pot apăra drepturile. Le-am scris de pe poziţia milioanelor de români cinstiţi care cred în adevăr, în dreptate şi în demnitate.
Cele şapte cărţi din seria Adevărul despre România sunt adresate în primul rând celor care nu mai doresc ca ei şi copiii lor să trăiască în minciună. Ele îi vizează însă şi pe cei care, dimpotrivă, au ales să trăiască în minciună, pentru ca nici ei să nu mai poată să spună: N-am ştiut.
Jurgen Stark, the ECB’s chief economist to Greece: “Let them eat baklava”
“The country has not kept public accounts under control, nor worked to improve competitiveness. Greece is in a very difficult situation.”
via Euro brinkmanship escalates as ECB shuts door on Greek bail-out – Telegraph.
Clearly this isn’t the time to get long on the Euro.
Meanwhile, this statement by Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou ranks right up there with ones made by Ken Skilling, Ken Lay, and Andy Fastow about how great Enron was in ‘00 & ‘01:
“Frankly we don’t need that clarification. We don’t expect to be bailed out by anybody as, I think, it is perfectly clear we’re doing what needs to be done to bring the deficit down and control public debt.”
Really? You’re doing what needs to be done? And just what is that, exactly?
Defaulting on payments to Swiss pharma companies?
Private placements of sovereign debt?
What you should be doing is making real fiscal reform which involves restructuring government programs (possibly privatizing them as well – oh the horror), restructuring the tax code, and begin the process of transforming the investing climate to allow for freer flows of capital.
Nothing like this is even being discussed, much less implemented.
But if it does come to pass, maybe – just maybe – we will see what the result is of profligate, ineffective, wasteful public spending and get our own fiscal house in order.
If we don’t, we’ll be praying to be the Wiemar Republic or Zimbabwe. Because we could end up as something worse.
Making payments in wheat, rice, crude oil, gold, silver, or precious/semi-precious gems. Wouldn’t that be something? Congratulations, your car now costs a 5 carat, D color, VS2, princess cut, diamond. Or the equivalent in rice. And you have to have it all with you at the time of purchase. Because a crisis of confidence for a fiat currency is not hyperinflation.
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Stocks in Europe couldn’t hold early gains on Wednesday as the market continued to drift after the year-opening rally.
The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 traded lower, slipping 0.2% to 257.11 in a broad but not heavy downturn.
The most notable faller was Marks & Spencer , which dropped 5.2%. The U.K. clothing retailer said comparable U.K. sales for the 13 weeks to Dec. 26 rose 0.8% from a year earlier, missing consensus expectations for a 1.2% advance.
The company said that after adjusting for the timing of its Christmas sale this fiscal year, which started on Dec. 27, comparable sales were up nearly 2%. See M&S story. See London Markets.
Global Dow
• MarketWatch Topics: The Dubai Crisis • Asia Markets | Europe Markets | LatAm Markets • Canadian Markets | Israel Stocks | London • U.S.: Market Snapshot | After Hours • Latin American/Canadian indexes • European indexes | Asian indexes • Bond Report | Oil News | Earnings Watch • Currencies | U.S. Economic Calendar
By region, the U.K. FTSE 100 slipped 0.4% to 5,503.20, the German DAX fell 0.5% to 6,003.71 and the French CAC 40 fell 0.3% to 4,001.06.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32 points ahead of data on U.S. employment.
Markit said its euro-zone services PMI rose to 53.6 in December from 53.0 in November. The figure was slightly below its earlier flash estimate of 53.7 but remained the highest reading since November 2007.
The euro exchanged hands at $1.4336, with the shared currency on the move as European Central Bank board member Jurgen Stark told the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 that Greece won’t get bailed out by the European Union american family insurance.
Greece’s credit rating has been under assault on the country’s massive debt burden relative to GDP.
Of other stocks in the spotlight, Deutsche Telekom fell 2.3% to 10.27 euros after it was cut to sell from neutral by UBS, which said earnings momentum is negative and free cash flow visibility is low.
It sees structural challenges in emerging Europe and at T-Mobile USA, suggesting scope for further downside. UBS kept its price target at 8.70 euros.
Sodexo , the French catering services group, gained 4.7%. It said Wednesday that total sales in its fiscal first quarter, which ended Nov. 30, fell 2.7% to 3.87 billion euros, as a decline in sales to corporate customers was partially offset by stronger sales to hospitals and schools. Sodexo also reaffirmed its targets for fiscal 2010, including for revenue to hold steady from the prior year and for an operating profit of between 750 million euros and 770 million euros.
Analysts at Exane BNP Paribas said the group’s North American performance was better than expected.
French auto maker Peugeot rose 3.6% after it was upped to buy from neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as it expects market share gains to continue into the first half of 2010. The broker is now estimating fourth-quarter revenue growth of 13.9%, bringing its annual revenue estimate of 48.4 billion euros ahead of consensus estimates.
Sonova Holding rose 3.4% after buying InSound Medical, a maker of a hearing aid system that’s not visible from the outside, for at least $75 million.
Europe Markets: Stocks in Europe drift lower; M&S retreats
Military Industrial Complex Set To Make A Killing From Body Scanners 050110scanner3The rabid calls for co-ordinated implementation of naked body scanners in airports across the planet, in the wake of the failed underwear bombing, will result in huge profits for the military industrial complex.
The giant defense contractor L-3 Communications is first line, having already landed a $165 million contract for body scanners from the Transportation Security Administration late last week.
The New York based company ranks among the world’s top contractors, with 81% of it’s total revenue being generated from defense spending in 2008 (see image below).
L-3 has supplied command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and products to the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and several other U.S. Government intelligence agencies. Read the full article
ARC Academy "Corporate Valuation & Financial Modeling" is designed to help delegates to learn the practical application of assessment techniques they learned in their studies.
Attachment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Log-PR (Press Release) – Jan 04, 2010 – Day 3 Program is designed to provide delegates with an in-depth and practical overview of financial analysis and forecasting techniques . During the program 3 days of training, delegates will learn: a) Evaluation of a company by using different valuation techniques (comparable company analysis: DCF Valuation) b) the techniques of financial modeling in Excel c) forecasting financial statements d) Calculation and analysis of the FCF and WACC Delegates will build a financial model with the help of a case study.The program helps candidates learn the basic principles of assessment, forecasting and analysis, which are relevant in today's business, banking and financial services world.Fees: INR 6000 per delegate Dates: 12 , 13, February 14, 2010 Venue: Hotel Spice Art, Rajendra Place, New Delhi The program is managed by the Association of Investment bankers who run a company investment banking boutique ARC Financial Services and have experience before working with companies like Goldman Sachs, ABN Amro, McKinsey & Co., Fidelity Investments and Private Equity Times. For more details please contact +91 11 4562 2127 or +91 11 4562 2128 or info@arc-academia.com…
Source: 3 Day Financial Modeling Workshop in Delhi in February 2010
Hot News: Code Blue Medics Training Division announces 2010 CPR/AED & First Aid class schedule.
Ok, so I am a little late, but I spent a little more time focusing on family over the holidays and am ok with neglecting work a little. You should try it sometime, if you haven’t already. It is good for the soul.
Looking backover the previous year, it was truly a tough one. The economic collapse, the war, swine flu, celebrity deaths – Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, Brittany Murphy (sorry if I missed any), Tiger Woods media issues, the never ending battle between conservatives and liberals, the list goes on.
In my own life, there were many challenges in 2009. So for me, I am glad to put it behind me. For what’s ahead, at least for now, let’s think positive. At least it’s a nice thought.
I encourage you to read the book – either by Amazon or torrent. Some decent points:
Nearly everyone investing in Madoff’s ventures were certain that he was doing something slightly illegal to make consistent, high returns. No one assumed that it was a hoax, just illegal gains (which is partly their fault).
Bernie had quite a few mistresses all over the world. His wife merely had them watched closely, and did not really do anything to stop Bernie’s affairs.
Ruth blames the Gentiles for the exposure of their Ponzi scheme.
It’s entertaining, if not really sad, to read about all the abuses and crimes that Bernie Madoff got away with. He suffers from narcissism and pathological lying. He’s incredibly callous about the people he hurt, even calling them “idiots” and “failures” for falling for his scheme. Furthermore, he still thinks he’s largely innocent, as if our free Capitalistic society makes what he did legal somehow. Really, really sad.
Also, I have it from a local prophet that the Great Zombie Invasion is to start in 2010. If so, I do believe the plan on IRC was that we all meet up in Colorado and try to survive.
The economy has since shown signs of recovery after plunging into one of the most severe recessions. Recently there are further credible signs.
Yield Spread
When short term interest rates are lower than long term rates, the yield curve is sloping upwards, often preceding a significant economic recovery. The yield spread is the difference between two different yields.
Yield spread between 30 year Treasury bonds and 2 year notes has now risen above 300 basis points, when a year ago the yield spread was about 170 basis points. The yield spread between 2 year and 10 year notes has reached almost 300 basis points and was last near these levels in 2003.
Jobless Claims
Labor Department figure shows initial jobless claims fell by 22,000 to 432,000 in the week ended Dec 26, the lowest level since July 2008.
Home Sales
Existing home sales rose in October by 10.1%, new home sales rose a better than expected 6.2%, pending home sales rose 3.7%. Although these improvements could be temporary as 30% of the sales were to first-time home buyers who were assisted by the $8,000 tax rebate program, the program has now been extended into next spring, and expanded to include some folks who are not first time buyers.
Consumer Confidence
The Conference Board, a New York-based research group, said its consumer confidence index rose to 52.9 in December.
Conclusion
However, US consumers are not likely to return to pre-crisis level spending. Various time bombs such as sovereign defaults, commercial real estate implosion looms. Further, the recovery so far is supported by massive government stimulus and liquidity injections. The Federal Reserve blew bubbles to get the economy out of the recession in 2003. They are doing it again this time, but on a bigger scale. Finally, US debt is likely unsustainable. There may be signs of recovery, and recent signs have gotten more credible. In many ways the recovery in the economy and the equities market are similar to the recovery in 2003. But the recovery, without solid fundamentals, is likely a fake recovery, one that could give way to a bigger crisis some time down the road.
El director del diari liberal The Guardian Alan Rusbridger pensa igual que l’editor liberal Josep Vergés: la llibertat té futur. Primera foto: La mentida subvencionada: “Vergés va arribar a Barcelona amb camisa blava, un català de Franco, va fer diners en ple franquisme” (Miquel Pairolí). La veritat liberal: L’editor Vergés anava de militar, com tothom a la seva edat. El falangista (obligatori) de Destino, Ignasi Agustí, l’editor Vergés el va poder treure als cinquanta. Destino fou la revista més censurada i clausurada dos mesos el 1967. Foto de la redacció saquejada pels feixistes durant la Segona Guerra Mundial per donar suport als aliats contra Hitler.
Un dels diaris més subvencionats de Catalunya publica un article d’opinió atackant l’editor Josep Vergés, el meu pare. El contradictori El Punt abans havia alabat l’exposició del seu centenar i com havia estat perseguit pel règim feixista d’Espanya. El pitjor crim del meu pare segons Miquel Pairolí: “Voluntat de negoci.” El director del liberal The Guardian està d’acord amb el meu pare liberal: la llibertat té sentit comercial (Veure search Centenari Vergés a la Biblioteca de Catalunya):
China on Path to Become Second-Largest Economy.BEIJING — China said on Thursday that its economy rose by 10.7 percent in fourth quarter compared with a year ago, as the country continued to surge forward even as many other nations are still trying to punch through the global recession. That was up from a revised growth rate of 9.1 percent in the third quarter.
fundraiser in Washington, D.C. tonight.
You will end up with this:
