*Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Flush with cash and facing hard times at home, Spanish companies are again looking abroad. The Great Recession has been easy on Enric Casi. In fact, the general manager of Mango, Spain's No. 2 fashion retailer, can barely keep up with business. The 53-year-old Barcelona native has inaugurated 225 stores since the crisis began and anticipates launching an additional 200 annually in coming years, mostly abroad...Mango's story isn't a one-off. Spanish companies from windmill makers to banks to bicycle manufacturers have been flexing their financial muscle just as American and European rivals cut back. Last year, Madrid's Banco Santander, Europe's second-largest financial house, paid $1.9 billion for Sovereign Bancorp in the US and $16 billion for Brazil's Banco Real. Retail giant Inditex, owner of fashion brand Zara, in February penned a deal with India's Tata Group to open stores across the subcontinent. And Iberdrola Renovables, already America's No. 2 wind farm developer, has won $546 million in US federal grants -- more than half of Washington's stimulus spending for green-energy projects.
Flush with cash and facing hard times at home, Spanish companies are again looking abroad.
The Great Recession has been easy on Enric Casi. In fact, the general manager of Mango, Spain's No. 2 fashion retailer, can barely keep up with business. The 53-year-old Barcelona native has inaugurated 225 stores since the crisis began and anticipates launching an additional 200 annually in coming years, mostly abroad...
Mango's story isn't a one-off. Spanish companies from windmill makers to banks to bicycle manufacturers have been flexing their financial muscle just as American and European rivals cut back. Last year, Madrid's Banco Santander, Europe's second-largest financial house, paid $1.9 billion for Sovereign Bancorp in the US and $16 billion for Brazil's Banco Real. Retail giant Inditex, owner of fashion brand Zara, in February penned a deal with India's Tata Group to open stores across the subcontinent. And Iberdrola Renovables, already America's No. 2 wind farm developer, has won $546 million in US federal grants -- more than half of Washington's stimulus spending for green-energy projects.
Germany, second only to China as the world's leading exporter of goods, has been particularly hard-hit by the collapse of global markets. But the mass unemployment some had feared has failed to materialize. Labor experts in many countries are wondering how Germany has done it....It was due in part to the workers in the program that Germany's new labor minister, Franz Josef Jung, was able to report an astonishing development last Thursday. In the midst of the country's deepest economic crisis, which has led to dramatic declines in order volume in key industries, unemployment was only half a percentage point higher in 2009 than it was in 2008. "The current figures are encouraging," Jung said. There are 3.2 million people registered as unemployed in Germany. At the beginning of the year, many had predicted up to 5 million would be unemployed by this fall.
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It was due in part to the workers in the program that Germany's new labor minister, Franz Josef Jung, was able to report an astonishing development last Thursday. In the midst of the country's deepest economic crisis, which has led to dramatic declines in order volume in key industries, unemployment was only half a percentage point higher in 2009 than it was in 2008. "The current figures are encouraging," Jung said. There are 3.2 million people registered as unemployed in Germany. At the beginning of the year, many had predicted up to 5 million would be unemployed by this fall.
This article is referring to what is known as "Kurzarbeitergeld": instead of sacking people outright, companies can cut work hours, and the state pays either 60 or 67% of the loss in income. The period for receiving these benefits was extended to 24 months. The employer only has to pay social contributions on the hours not worked.
The advantage for the employer is that she has a better chance of holding on to the skilled people she will need when the next order comes around. The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman
GM's about-face has angered both Opel workers and European governments. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, union leader and Opel board member Armin Schild blasts GM for mismanagement and says that the US company is uninterested in saving the Opel brand. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Schild, General Motors has decided not to sell Opel after all, preferring to restructure the German automaker itself. What do Opel employees think of the plan? Armin Schild: GM is going to continue pursuing company policies that have already led to the firm's decline over the last 20 years. Pressure on the employees and on the government, however, will become more intense. SPIEGEL ONLINE: What do you think GM will demand? Schild: GM will ask for the same amount of support that the government already promised to Magna. In return, they will come up with a restructuring plan which, at first glance, looks a lot like the one Magna proposed. But closer study reveals that it does not actually contain what you would expect. The existence of the Opel brand has been put in danger. At the very least, it has been intentionally damaged.
GM's about-face has angered both Opel workers and European governments. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, union leader and Opel board member Armin Schild blasts GM for mismanagement and says that the US company is uninterested in saving the Opel brand.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Schild, General Motors has decided not to sell Opel after all, preferring to restructure the German automaker itself. What do Opel employees think of the plan?
Armin Schild: GM is going to continue pursuing company policies that have already led to the firm's decline over the last 20 years. Pressure on the employees and on the government, however, will become more intense.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What do you think GM will demand?
Schild: GM will ask for the same amount of support that the government already promised to Magna. In return, they will come up with a restructuring plan which, at first glance, looks a lot like the one Magna proposed. But closer study reveals that it does not actually contain what you would expect. The existence of the Opel brand has been put in danger. At the very least, it has been intentionally damaged.
he head of General Motors Europe is said to be quitting his post in protest at GM's decision to hold on to Opel. This comes as Germany's finance minister signaled a readiness to offer GM aid to help restructure Opel.
With jobless numbers soaring, the US Senate voted to extend unemployment benefits and expand a tax credit for homebuyers. The measure goes to the House of Representatives, where it will likely be approved and sent to President Obama to sign into law.
AFP - The price of gold hit a record high above 1,100 dollars an ounce in trading here on Friday following a report that Sri Lanka had joined India in purchasing the precious metal in favour of the US currency.
The more money they create, the more the Bank of England's policy makers must wish they had better things to spend it on than government debt. Of the extra £175bn the Bank has created through its QE policy since March, around £173bn has been used to buy UK gilts. That's no great surprise. But it is far from ideal.
The more money they create, the more the Bank of England's policy makers must wish they had better things to spend it on than government debt.
Of the extra £175bn the Bank has created through its QE policy since March, around £173bn has been used to buy UK gilts. That's no great surprise. But it is far from ideal.
Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That's 44 percent of the body - compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall. CRP says California Republican Rep. Darrell ("Screw U") Issa is the richest lawmaker on Capitol Hill, with a net worth estimated at about $251 million. Next in line: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), worth about $244.7 million; Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), worth about $214.5 million; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), worth about $209.7 million; and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), worth about $208.8 million. All told, at least seven lawmakers have net worths greater than $100 million, according to the Center's 2008 figures. "Many Americans probably have a sense that members of Congress aren't hurting, even if their government salary alone is in the six figures, much more than most Americans make," said CRP spokesman Dave Levinthal. "What we see through these figures is that many of them have riches well beyond that salary, supplemented with securities, stock holdings, property and other investments."
CRP says California Republican Rep. Darrell ("Screw U") Issa is the richest lawmaker on Capitol Hill, with a net worth estimated at about $251 million. Next in line: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), worth about $244.7 million; Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), worth about $214.5 million; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), worth about $209.7 million; and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), worth about $208.8 million.
All told, at least seven lawmakers have net worths greater than $100 million, according to the Center's 2008 figures.
"Many Americans probably have a sense that members of Congress aren't hurting, even if their government salary alone is in the six figures, much more than most Americans make," said CRP spokesman Dave Levinthal. "What we see through these figures is that many of them have riches well beyond that salary, supplemented with securities, stock holdings, property and other investments."
We urge readers to support the Too Big To Fail Petition: maybe one of these days kalamari will finally be served. Sen. Bernie Sander's Petition: Petition to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Too Big to Fail is Too Big to Exist Financial institutions that are "too big to fail" played a major role in undermining the American economy and driving our country into a severe recession. Financial institutions that are "too big to fail" put taxpayers on the hook for a $700 billion bailout and more than $2 trillion from the Federal Reserve in virtually zero interest loans. Huge financial institutions have become so big that the four largest banks in America (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup) now issue one out of every two mortgages; two out of three credit cards; and hold $4 out of every $10 in bank deposits in the country. Just five banks in America (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley) own a staggering 95% of the $290 trillion in derivatives held at commercial banks. Derivatives are risky side bets made by Wall Street gamblers that led to the $182 billion bailout of AIG, the $29 billion bailout that allowed JP Morgan Chase to acquire Bear Stearns, and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The concentration of ownership in the financial services industry has resulted in higher bank fees and interest rates that consumers are forced to pay for credit cards, mortgages and other financial products. No single financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of American jobs or to our nation's economic well-being. .....
Sen. Bernie Sander's Petition:
Petition to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Too Big to Fail is Too Big to Exist Financial institutions that are "too big to fail" played a major role in undermining the American economy and driving our country into a severe recession. Financial institutions that are "too big to fail" put taxpayers on the hook for a $700 billion bailout and more than $2 trillion from the Federal Reserve in virtually zero interest loans. Huge financial institutions have become so big that the four largest banks in America (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup) now issue one out of every two mortgages; two out of three credit cards; and hold $4 out of every $10 in bank deposits in the country. Just five banks in America (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley) own a staggering 95% of the $290 trillion in derivatives held at commercial banks. Derivatives are risky side bets made by Wall Street gamblers that led to the $182 billion bailout of AIG, the $29 billion bailout that allowed JP Morgan Chase to acquire Bear Stearns, and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The concentration of ownership in the financial services industry has resulted in higher bank fees and interest rates that consumers are forced to pay for credit cards, mortgages and other financial products. No single financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of American jobs or to our nation's economic well-being. .....
Too Big to Fail is Too Big to Exist
Financial institutions that are "too big to fail" played a major role in undermining the American economy and driving our country into a severe recession.
Financial institutions that are "too big to fail" put taxpayers on the hook for a $700 billion bailout and more than $2 trillion from the Federal Reserve in virtually zero interest loans.
Huge financial institutions have become so big that the four largest banks in America (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup) now issue one out of every two mortgages; two out of three credit cards; and hold $4 out of every $10 in bank deposits in the country.
Just five banks in America (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley) own a staggering 95% of the $290 trillion in derivatives held at commercial banks. Derivatives are risky side bets made by Wall Street gamblers that led to the $182 billion bailout of AIG, the $29 billion bailout that allowed JP Morgan Chase to acquire Bear Stearns, and the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
The concentration of ownership in the financial services industry has resulted in higher bank fees and interest rates that consumers are forced to pay for credit cards, mortgages and other financial products.
No single financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of American jobs or to our nation's economic well-being.
.....
Just five banks in America (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley) own a staggering 95% of the $290 trillion in derivatives held at commercial banks.
That is why an edict from the government that no CDS without an underlying 'insurable interest' would be enforceable from a set date would not really affect the rest of the world that much.
A sort of 'truth and reconciliation' process of netting and settlement would be necessary, which would take time, and possibly liquidity support for those who have issued the CDS which have been nullified.
But a huge layer of risk and toxic perverse incentives would be removed. "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
