Global Economy Bursting?

[Randolph Kinney]

Governors Coming in to Recruit California Businesses

http://utahpolicy.com/view/full_sto...rnia-Businesses?instance=featured_home_policy

The governors of Utah and Virginia will travel to Costa Mesa, Palo Alto, and San Francisco next month in an effort to convince California businesses to move to or invest in their states.

The effort, which comes on the heels of a February recruitment visit by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, highlights the intense competition among regions as the economy recovers from the recession.

Utah's Gov. Gary Herbert and Virginia's Gov. Bob McDonnell "will be available to discuss their reasons for recruiting businesses in California, as well as the status of the economies in their own states," according to Cilia Kohn, a publicist for New-York based Development Counsellors International, a marketing firm representing the two states.

"Utah has experienced an influx of new facilities from California-based companies, with the likes of Adobe, eBay, Edwards Lifesciences, The Boeing Company, Workday, GAF and Qualtrics all establishing facilities in the state recently," Kohn said.

"Meanwhile, Virginia has also experienced significant investment from California-based companies such as McKesson, Bechtel Corporation, Northrop Grumman, SRI International, Hilton Worldwide, and SAIC establishing facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia."

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Congress Is About to Make Financial System Even WORSE

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2013/03/congress-is-about-to-make-financial-system-even-worse/

Top Derivatives Expert Estimates Size of the Global Derivatives Market at $1,200 Trillion Dollars … 20 Times Larger than the Global Economy

If the big banks are manipulating the derivatives market, they could manipulate every other market on the planet. Given that the size of the derivatives market dwarfs the entire global economy, and given that derivatives are – by definition – not real assets, but paper abstractions loosely based upon real assets, manipulation of derivatives can drive asset prices up or down at whim.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

The same problem exists in the commodities market. There are many days that more bushels of corn, wheat, or bbl.s of oil are traded than exist in the world .... there needs to be a fixed amount of such goods that can be traded.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Australia reports record company closures, many blame carbon tax

Things to come in California

http://www.news.com.au/business/com...blame-carbon-tax/story-fnda1bsz-1226599283585

THE carbon tax is contributing to a record number of firms going to the wall with thousands of employees being laid off and companies forced to close factories that have stood for generations.

Soaring energy bills caused by the Government's climate change scheme have been called the "straw that broke the camel's back" by company executives and corporate rescue doctors who are trying to save ailing firms.

New data from the corporate regulator reveals insolvencies have hit a record high over the past 12 months, led by widespread failures in manufacturing and construction, which accounted for almost one-fifth of collapses.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

There is an environmentalist named McKibben who is making a tour arguing to "Do the Math" claiming global warming is killing the planet. One of his big pushes is urging Universities to divest all investment in fossil energy.

In 2012, investments in oil and gas was the top performer in the portfolio of universities. At 52% it stood head and shoulders over technology and banking investments. So perhaps Mr. McKibben should "do the math..." Taking on investments that have lower returns helps the universities how? And do you think that if the U doesn't invest that these would return less money? that the environment would be better off? that oil companies would sign off on a mea culpa and say, "We're wrong. Tomorrow we wil start shutting down all our wells and refineries and start inventing some fantasy energy source like hydrogen generation, super effiicent lightweight batteries, or go back to the horse and buggy.." How stupid one man can be....and still be considered a genius.

 

[Riick]

^^
"The market can remain irrational longer than you or I can remain solvent"
--- Methinks same length of time applies to irrational Genius.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

California's $68B rail project will hire the 'disadvantaged' -- like felons and dropouts

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/2...il-project-must-employ-disadvantaged-workers/

What do high school dropouts, convicted felons and union apprentices have in common?

They’re all “disadvantaged” workers who — alongside veterans, former foster children and single parents — must account for at least 10 percent of the labor force behind California’s $68 billion high-speed rail project.

Randal O'Toole, a senior fellow at Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank, said his biggest concern is not the unconventional workforce demand, but that the electrically-powered train system is really a "political project" aimed at fattening the wallets of well-connected unions, contractors, engineers and associated firms.

"There's a lot of money to be made out of building this and the whole goal of high-speed rail is to make that money, to transfer money from taxpayers into the pockets of selected supporters of the Obama administration," O'Toole told FoxNews.com. "It always comes back to politics."

"There's another chapter in the high-speed fail saga, and I almost can't do this one with a straight face,” Assemblyman Brian Jones, R-Santee, said. “What a social engineering disaster this is going to be, and add to California's laughingstock reputation."

Despite those concerns, several powerful Democrats continue to back the plan, including Gov. Jerry Brown, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and President Obama. Voter support, however, has largely evaporated since 2008. A recent statewide survey found that 54 percent of likely voters now oppose the project.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

California’s New Taxes Are Paying for Pensions

Remember, these taxes are for the children

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-27/california-s-new-taxes-are-paying-for-pensions.html

What if a corporation raised $500 million in a securities offering on the premise that the proceeds would go for operating expenses, then disclosed a few months later that $300 million of this amount would instead be used to service a debt that wasn’t disclosed in the offering document?

This would be false advertising, subject to sanction by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Unfortunately, the SEC doesn’t have jurisdiction over state politicians engaging in the same behavior, and, in the case of California, involving sums that are 100 times bigger.

Last November, California politicians persuaded voters to support a proposed seven-year, $50 billion tax increase, largely on the vow that the money would go to public education. The first five words of the initiative’s title were “Temporary Taxes to Fund Education.”

Now, just four months after the election, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office has announced that the California State Teachers’ Retirement System requires an extra $4.5 billion a year for 30 years -- $135 billion -- to cover its unfunded liability for teacher pensions and that the money will have to come from some combination of school districts and the state. To the extent that it comes from the school districts, $4.5 billion a year is 167 percent of the annual amount those districts expected from the tax increase. To the extent that it comes from the state, $4.5 billion is more than 100 percent of the annual amount it expected in new revenue.

Either way, more than $30 billion over the next seven years will go to the service of a debt that wasn’t disclosed before the voters were asked to approve the tax increase.

 

[Riick]

Voter support, however, has largely evaporated since 2008.
A recent statewide survey found that 54 percent of likely voters now oppose the project

.

Either way, more than $30 billion over the next seven years will go to the service of a debt
that wasn’t disclosed before the voters were asked to approve the tax increase.

In light of both the above, I'm reminded of:

• "Republican Defined: A Democrat - after he's been beaten & robbed."

Looks like CA may have a slew of new Republicans by next election.
.

 

[Restrain]

Nope, still a lot of takers who do not pull their heads out of the sand.