Global Economy Bursting?

[Randolph Kinney]

Asian American immigrants outpace Latinos

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...letter&utm_campaign=Top O' The Bay Newsletter

As the presidential candidates battle over U.S.-Mexico immigration policy, a sweeping new survey shows that Asian Americans have overtaken Latinos nationally as the largest group of new immigrants arriving each year in the United States - a development with profound political and economic implications.

Not only are Asian Americans the fastest-growing racial group in the country, but they have the highest incomes, are the best-educated and are happier with their lot in life compared with other groups, according to "The Rise of Asian Americans," a comprehensive new Pew Research Center survey and report being released Tuesday.

Politically, Asian Americans are more satisfied than most Americans with the nation's direction, generally approve of Obama's performance, lean Democratic and prefer bigger government than other Americans, the poll finds.

In 2010, about 430,000 Asians - roughly 36 percent of all new immigrants - came to the United States, compared with about 370,000, or 31 percent, who were Latino.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Good article on what is happening to capital flows from Europe and what that means to our banks.

http://theautomaticearth.com/Finance/capital-flight-capital-controls-capital-panic.html

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Search for "gold" in the FDIC document, and prepare to be stunned.


http://www.FDIC.gov/news/news/financial/2012/fil12027.html

A. Zero Percent Risk-Weighted Items

The following exposures would receive a zero percent risk weight under the proposal:

Cash;
Gold bullion;


...


To apply the simple approach, the collateral must be subject to a collateral agreement for at least the life of the exposure; the collateral must be revalued at least every 6 months; and the collateral (other than gold) must be in the same currency.

 

[Austin]

I haven't been able to read this forum for a while except when I was on vacation because I cannot access it through my isp. I have the new wildblue-execede high speed service from the satalite and for some reason this server will not work. It is the only site I cannot access but I can get the same forum program in other places. It just will not work on this forum for some reason. Tried it on three computers from home and won't work but works fine when I go to another service.
Anyway, it looks like the world trade center built of cards is coming down pell mell.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Stockton California set to file Bankruptcy - pensions are vulnerable

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-21/california-s-stockton-may-skip-10-million-owed-on-debt

Stockton, California, facing a $26 million deficit, laid out a bankruptcy contingency plan that includes skipping $10.2 million in debt service in the fiscal year that starts next month.

The plan, described on Stockton’s website yesterday, would pair a total of $12 million in debt expenditure reductions with $11.2 million in cuts to employee pay and benefits. It will be presented to the City Council June 26 for consideration.

“The city cannot assume that agreements reached will enable the City Council to completely close the budget gap,” City Manager Bob Deis said in a memo accompanying the plan. The plan says the city’s proposed general-fund budget for fiscal 2013 has an operating shortfall of $25.9 million.

The plan, which would produce a general-fund surplus of $39,000, includes a $7.1 million reduction in payments for retiree medical benefits for a year before eliminating the payments the following year. Deis has said escalating health costs for pensioners contributed to the city’s insolvency.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. pension, and San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) (WFC), the nation’s biggest home lender, were among 18 creditors involved in the talks.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

California Pension Payouts Increase 73% in 2 Years

http://wallstreetpit.com/93170-california-pension-payouts-increase-73-in-2-years

Well, for taxpayers in California that public pension hand in your pocket is reaching ever deeper. KCRA in Sacramento reports that over the last two years those receiving pensions of $100k or more increased by more than 31% and the total dollars distributed increased by 73%.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Public Workers Face New Rash of Layoffs, Hurting Recovery

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/b...e-continued-layoffs-and-recovery-is-hurt.html

Companies have been slowly adding workers for more than two years. But pink slips are still going out in a crucial area: government.

In California, the governor is threatening to eliminate 15,000 state jobs.

At the same time, costs for health care, social services, pensions and education are still rising.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Krugman is suggesting a huge stimulus package, but the flaw I see in his offering is that he thinks "eduation" needs more teachers, etc. Yes, that would put a few more teachers to work, but do nothing to reduce the cost of education...which is the real issue. People in the lower "classes" if you will, cannot afford an expensive education. And teachers build very little even in an oblique way. Infrastructure spending seems the logical way to actually put people to work. 10 years ago I traveled I-80 thru Nebraska and the traffic was heavy miles and miles from any major town. Same for I-40 and I-80. The Interstates are clogged. Many need additional lanes. new bridges, more and better exchanges.
We could easily put hundreds of thousands of people and their companies to work on rebuilding our roads and public buildings. I think there is merit to that proposal by Krugman. I see less impact from simply hiring a few more teachers or government employees. That seems to be the Greek problem... Half the people or more worked on the government dole.

Reducing government costs seems to me is to draw down our troops overseas. I see no benefit in have soldiers stationed in friendly nations outside a few jointly-operated military bases. Is the world any less safe because we had to close Clark Airbase in the Philipines after a volcano destroyed the place?

 

[Randolph Kinney]

California's new method of raising revenue

Budget Proposal Puts Taxpayers In A No-win Situation

The way to move forward and restore California to greatness is by creating jobs. Most people agree with this principle, and even Democrat Legislators give the concept lip service. Unfortunately, the decisions made over the years by the Legislature have only deepened our economic troubles and contributed to California’s chronic job shortage. The budget passed last week is no exception.

The state budget passed by the majority party will only further California’s jobs deficit. In addition to the main budget bill, various trailer bills will impact specific parts of California’s economy and government.

One such measure is slated to come to a vote this week, Assembly Bill 1475, represents an insidious backdoor tax increase on Californians.

One of the latest bad ideas Democrats have produced, AB 1475 would authorize the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to impose a 20 percent penalty on taxpayers who ‘over-pay’ their taxes. Think about that: the majority party wants to fine Californians who over-pay their taxes.

Currently, some taxpayers are subject to a 20 percent “understatement penalty” if their tax withholdings are too low at the end of the year. This potential penalty encourages taxpayers to overstate their taxes in order to avoid the penalty and, in effect, give the state an interest-free loan.

Allowing the tax board to collect penalties for both overpayments and underpayments puts taxpayers in a no-win situation. This proposal even prohibits taxpayers who have overpaid their taxes from protesting the penalty at the tax board. For many the only course of action would be to file suit, which would increase litigation costs for both the taxpayer and the state.

By proposing legislation that makes it even harder to operate a business, Democrats appear to think that government should be responsible for creating jobs, not the private sector. This tax proposal is just the most recent in a long line of laws micro-managing businesses and individuals by regulating and implementing more mandates.

 

[Restrain]

DOW off sharply. Manufacturing index drops sharply, Moody's downgrades 15 big banks, Fed forecasts much weaker economy, Goldman warns stock decline.

Bad, bad economic forecasts. People are looking behind the curtain and are not liking what they see.