tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5052050599656048532024-03-12T19:52:09.256-07:00Nerd InvestingRajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-64039525970357516622016-02-18T20:14:00.000-08:002016-02-18T20:19:20.259-08:00Powerful Political Forces are Aligning Behind Minimum Income<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income">Basic income</a> is where the government gives all citizens a set amount of money. It's a topic that Canada's ruling party <a href="http://www.liberal.ca/files/2010/05/Priority-Resolutions-EN-FINAL.pdf">endorsed</a> before they came into power, and which Canada's largest financial news paper is <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/prospect-of-minimum-income-gaining-steam-as-canada-clamours-for-new-ways-to-manage-welfare-and-benefits">discussing</a>:
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It is not a new idea, much the opposite. Its many champions include American Founding Father Thomas Paine, on the grounds that everyone is entitled to share in general prosperity. He thought the state should pay citizens a bonus, perhaps on their 21st birthday, which would minimize the “invidious distinctions” between rich and poor. Unlike his other views, it did not catch on in America.<br />
But it became unusually popular over the past year in Canada, with top-level political support everywhere from Alberta to Prince Edward Island and official Ottawa.</blockquote>
A socialists pipe dream, you might say. But, it may be an idea's who's time has come as the <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21688444-fears-deflation-and-recession-hit-markets-picnic-bears">threat of deflation</a> appears once again as the situation may be arising where the interest of socialists and central bankers are aligning behind this policy.<br />
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The last financial crisis taught central bankers that they need to act fast and inject liquidity to fight deflation and stave off severe recession. Central banks have adopted very unconventional policies, like <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/negative-interest-rate-policy-nirp.asp">negative interest</a> rates and <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quantitative-easing.asp">quantitative easing</a>. With these weapons deployed, would central banks be out of 'bullets'?<br />
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No, because they would still have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman">Milton Freidman's</a> famous <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/helicopter-drop.asp">helicopter money drop</a>. Previously, this took the form of quantitative easing. But more QE may not be politically palatable, as it disproportionately benefits the wealthy, hurts pension plans, and may lead to banks simply hording cash. Unconditional basic income, on the other hand, would get money to people who will spend it. Which would fight deflation and satisfy people's needs.<br />
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Therefore, this may be the answer to the world's next financial crisis.Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-36433514870936563422012-05-18T10:17:00.000-07:002012-05-18T10:18:12.966-07:00Bill Gross Calls Facebook a Bubble<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gross">Bill Gross</a> manages a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Investment_Management">fund of $242.7 billion</a>. And he just called facebook a bubble on his <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/PIMCO/status/203502027718918144">twitter</a>:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDv6TVy2egB2SWVrjEEJKMTkFqZBPoXkTRld8xzpb2PjU8n1T2vu8GhvtGb8P3NcgB8rvmGAKwpMULMdXbTvoUlUsY5WdPgMhyWWNGmqfeAlX94HFO74DTlUl6uZAXa80F7dVF3uiXk7Hz/s1600/Gross_facebook.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDv6TVy2egB2SWVrjEEJKMTkFqZBPoXkTRld8xzpb2PjU8n1T2vu8GhvtGb8P3NcgB8rvmGAKwpMULMdXbTvoUlUsY5WdPgMhyWWNGmqfeAlX94HFO74DTlUl6uZAXa80F7dVF3uiXk7Hz/s640/Gross_facebook.png" width="640" /></a></div>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-38912246890841959612012-05-10T17:50:00.000-07:002012-05-10T17:53:19.930-07:00JPMorgan Loses $2 Billion Dollars<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-10/jpmorgan-chase-says-cio-unit-suffered-significant-loss.html">Bloomberg is reporting</a> that JPMorgan has lost $2 billion dollars playing the markets.
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JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said the firm lost about $2 billion on synthetic credit securities after an “egregious’” failure in its chief investment office, which the bank says focuses on hedging.
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“This portfolio has proven to be riskier, more volatile and less effective as an economic hedge than the firm previously believed,” the New York-based company said today in a quarterly securities filing. JPMorgan declined 5.5 percent to $38.50 in extended trading at 5:55 p.m. in New York.
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Here is a small excerpt from the shareholders conference call.
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Some commentary on the loss.
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<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/player.js?embedCode=F0MDFvNDrc-b63spmXR6DutjAEhpU2Kx&playerBrandingId=8a7a9c84ac2f4e8398ebe50c07eb2f9d&width=768&deepLinkEmbedCode=F0MDFvNDrc-b63spmXR6DutjAEhpU2Kx&height=432&thruParam_bloomberg-ui[popOutButtonVisible]=FALSE"></script>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-24352542282530695972012-05-04T16:05:00.001-07:002012-05-04T16:05:44.716-07:00Hugh Hendry Predicts Debt Crisis Heading for China<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Hendry">Hugh Hendry</a> is making headlines once again, in <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/03/us-hughhendry-letter-idUSBRE8420QP20120503">this story.</a>
<blockquote>Hugh Hendry, one of the hedge fund industry's most outspoken managers, has warned that the economic crisis is headed for Asia, with the region's largest economy, China, struggling under a bursting property bubble and tumbling demand for its exports.
Hendry, who runs Eclectica Asset Management, which has around $700 million in assets, said in his first investor letter of great length since the winter of 2010 that he was "more pessimistic on Chinese growth than ever."</blockquote>
Hendry made a video with the BBC that showed a day in the life of a hedge fund manager.
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<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/whL9DvjYkR8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-54950368321555819742012-01-09T09:36:00.000-08:002012-01-09T09:36:27.740-08:00European Debt Crisis Worse than 2008 - George SorosFamed investor and billionaire <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros">George Soros</a> says that the European soveriegn debt crisis may be worse than the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late-2000s_financial_crisis">financial crisis of 2008</a>. Read the full article <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204257504577150403662707094.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">here</a>.
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The euro zone crisis stems from the use of sovereign credit to substitute failing commercial credit in the wake of the 2008 financial troubles, said the Hungary-born investor who attracted global attention for his 1992 bet against the British pound that earned $1 billion for his Quantum hedge fund.<br/><br/>
"The excessive use of sovereign credit has now brought sovereign credit into question," he added.<br/><br/>
The current crisis is even more serious than the global financial meltdown of 2008, Mr. Soros said, warning that any collapse of European banks would have global consequences.<br/><br/>
</blockquote>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-22962307139998338582012-01-09T09:31:00.000-08:002012-01-09T09:31:25.032-08:00European Debt Crisis VideoThis is a good video that explains how debt problems in the tiny country of Greece threaten European economies and possibly the world.
One of the most interesting points in the video is how the market assumed that the EU would back member nations debt, and when that didn't happen, the market lost faith in the entire market.
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<blockquote>Demand for silver is expected to exceed supply in early 2012 because of an unusual non-recurring event. Thailand is expected to recover from a major flood experienced in the fourth quarter. Thailand is the world’s largest assembler of electronic devices. Many of its electronic assembly plants were shut down by the flood. Demand for silver used in electronic components slipped briefly, but is expected to recover early this year.
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The Thai floods have had an interesting impact on electronics prices. The floods stopped the manufacturing of many electronic parts and caused shortages. For example, <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/t/computer-hardware/hard-drive-prices-skyrocket-177515">hard drive prices had gone up 90%</a> because of shortages.
These prices spikes have caused some buyers to put off purchase until prices normalize. Now as Thailand recovers we can expect the pent up demand to create high demand. This should push up silver which is a key component in electronics.Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-52978874611292255002011-12-20T09:00:00.000-08:002011-12-20T09:00:53.926-08:00Chinese Housing Bubble Popping?It seems China's housing market is finally correcting. There was a lot of talk about how China's market wasn't a bubble because people have to pay a large deposit. But the dramatic decline and rising inventories seem to suggest otherwise. See the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china-housing-bubble-20111213,0,6222603,full.story">full article</a> on the Los Angles Times:
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Home prices nationwide declined in November for the third straight month, according to an index of values in 100 major cities compiled by the China Index Academy, an independent real estate firm. Average prices in the Shanghai area are down about 40% from their peak in mid-2009, to about $176,000 for a 1,000-square-foot home.</br></br>
Sales have plummeted. In Beijing, nearly two years’ worth of inventory is clogging the market, and more than 1,000 real estate agencies have closed this year. Developers who once pre-sold housing projects within hours are growing desperate. A real estate company in the eastern city of Wenzhou is offering to throw in a new BMW with a home purchase.</br></br>
The swift turnaround has stunned buyers such as Shanghai resident Mark Li, who thought prices had nowhere to go but up. The software engineer closed on a $250,000, three-bedroom apartment in August, only to watch weeks later as the developer slashed prices 25% on identical units to attract buyers in a slowing market.</br></br>
Outraged, Li and hundreds of others who paid full price trashed the sales office, scuffled with employees and protested for three days before police broke up the demonstration. Walking away now would mean losing the $75,000 down payment that he borrowed from his working-class parents.</br></br>
“I still haven’t told them,” Li, 29, said of his home’s plummeting value. “It will just make them worry, and it’s already too late.”
</blockquote>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-57001280494179541092011-12-07T15:47:00.001-08:002011-12-07T15:52:18.151-08:00Marc Faber Expects The Markets To Go UpMarc Faber expects the markets to go up as the E.U. prints money buy themselves some time. He also suggests you buy gold as both the euro and dollar are long term undesirable assets.
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His views on China:
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"The reason I'm not very keen on China at the present time [is because] we had a credit bubble, we still have artificially low interest rates and a huge fiscal deficit in orders words artificial stimulus. That's coming to an end. Yes, the government can further stimulate and slash interest-rates again and reduce reserve requirements, but it will just postpone the problem and aggravate the problem in my opinion."
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"When you have an economy like China that becomes so big so quickly, you can have a more meaningful setback. If the U.S. economy grows at 3% or contracts that 3%, it has no impact on the price of copper to speak of….In the case of China, whether the economy grows at 10% or 5% as a huge impact on the demand for iron ore and copper and aluminum, steel and coal. The Chinese economy today has a much larger impact on the rest of the world than is generally perceived economically speaking."
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<br /></div>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-81570219070461068022011-12-06T09:21:00.001-08:002011-12-06T09:29:58.183-08:00China Continues To SlowThere are more concerns regarding the slow down in China, especailly in the property sector. Please see <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-06/china-stocks-slump-to-lowest-since-2009-on-slowing-growth-europe-concerns.html">China’s Stocks Slump to Lowest in Six Weeks on Growth Concerns</a> for more info. From the article:
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China’s stocks fell, sending the benchmark index to its lowest level in six weeks, on concern a property slowdown will hurt growth and after Standard & Poor’s put 15 European nations on watch for lower ratings.</br></br>
“The weakness in the property market will pose a big threat to economic growth next year,” said Wang Weijun, a strategist at Zheshang Securities Co. in Shanghai. “There is a lot of uncertainty in Europe. If the debt crisis worsens, hot money will probably continue to flow out of China.”
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Last week China reduced it's reserve ratio in an attempt to stimulate the economy. See <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-30/china-cuts-reserve-requirement-for-banks-as-europe-crisis-threatens-growth.html">China Reserve-Ratio Cut May Signal Slowdown</a>. From the article:
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Reserve ratios will decline by 50 basis points effective Dec. 5, the central bank said on its website yesterday. The move may add 350 billion yuan ($55 billion) to the financial system, according to UBS AG.</br></br>
A report due today may show that China’s manufacturing contracted for the first time since February 2009, and the nation’s stocks had their biggest decline in almost four months yesterday. Premier Wen Jiabao aims to sustain the economic expansion as Europe’s debt crisis saps exports, a credit squeeze hits small businesses and a crackdown on real-estate speculation sends home sales sliding.
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See my other posts about China's slow down; <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/10/credit-suisse-says-chinese-banks.html">Credit Suisse Says Chinese Banks Bankrupt</a>, <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/10/jim-chanos-says-chinese-banks.html">Jim Chanos Sees 'Deterioration' in Chinese Banks</a>, <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/09/china-loan-shark-market-crashes-scores.html">China Loan Shark Market Crashes; Scores of Chinese Business Owners Unable to Pay Black Market Loans Commit Suicide or Disappear</a>, <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/09/jim-chanos-talks-about-china-and-debt.html">Jim Chanos Talks About China And Debt</a>, <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/08/china-is-slowing.html">China is Slowing</a>.Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-62672766319102031482011-12-01T08:44:00.001-08:002011-12-01T08:56:25.302-08:00Has the ECB Started De Facto Quantitative Easing?On Tuesday, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing">European Central Bank</a> (ECB) failed to sell as many European bonds as they sold. This is known as "sterilize" it's bond purchases. See the article <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/11/29/bloomberg_articlesLVFGZB6K50ZM.DTL#ixzz1fIpwjCGQ">here</a>:
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Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank failed to fully offset the extra liquidity created by its bond purchases for the first time in seven months, a sign of mounting tensions among euro-area banks.
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The Frankfurt-based ECB said today that 85 banks bid a total of 194.2 billion euros ($259 billion) for seven-day term deposits. It had aimed to drain 203.5 billion euros, the amount its bond purchases have created since the program began in May last year. It last fell short of its intended total on April 26.
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Although this is just one data point, it is interesting because these types of purchases are exactly the same as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing">quantitative easing</a> program the United States implemented.
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Quantitative easing is essentially "money printing". It is controversial strategy favoured by many economists, including <a href="http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/10/krugman-we-need-8-10-trillion-worth-of-quantitative-easing.html">Paul Krugman</a>.
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However, Germany is dead set against it. Is this the start of a back-door quantative easing program for Europe? At this point it is unclear. However, I feel that eventually Germany and the rest of Europe will have no choice but to print money. I don't see any option being politically realistic.Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-24106959582667680522011-11-24T08:01:00.001-08:002011-11-24T08:08:40.915-08:00IMF Warns Japan Debt Could "Quickly Become Unsustainable"Japan has the largest public debt in the world. Please see my previous post, <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/11/next-victims-of-debt-crisis-are-france.html">Next Victim Of Debt Crisis are France and Japan</a>, which has a video from legendary hedge fund manager Kyle Bass and hear what he has to say about the danger Japan presents to the global economy.<br />
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Now, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund">International Monetery Fund</a> is raising the red flag about Japan. Please see the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20111123-717122.html">Wall Street Journal article</a>:
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The International Monetary Fund warned in a new report that market concerns over fiscal sustainability could trigger a "sudden spike" in Japanese government bond yields that could "quickly" render the nation's debt unsustainable as well as shake the global economy.<br />
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The fund's Japan Sustainability Report, released on its Web site Nov. 23, serves as a fresh reminder to Tokyo policymakers that the international community is already worried about fallouts from Japan's potential fiscal problems, after debt problems in some European economies evolved into a continent-wide crisis.
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Japan's public liabilities amount to roughly twice annual economic output--a ratio worse than any other industrialized economies,' including a turmoil-hit Spain or Italy. Japanese finance ministry bureaucrats worry that something may happen to tip Japan into a fiscal chaos, but the government is slow to move amid political reluctance to lift taxes, particularly after the March 11 earthquake.</blockquote>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-15857447845597959252011-11-23T08:14:00.001-08:002011-11-23T08:16:07.541-08:00Next Victims of Debt Crisis are France and Japan?Kyle Bass discusses the Euro, and why France and Japan are in trouble in a very entertaining and informative interview with the BBC.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/K-F_QF1XTXI" width="640"></iframe>
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Talk is cheap, so it's important to note, as Bass says in the video, his beats against Japan are more like insurance, so he doesn't stand to loose very much if he is wrong.Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-52000476283339963442011-11-16T12:47:00.001-08:002011-11-16T12:47:04.098-08:00Italian Default "Months, weeks, or days" Away<br />
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In the next few months, the odds of recession due to domestic factors appear reasonably contained. Those odds increase gradually and reach about 30% in the second half of 2012, after which <a href="" name="_GoBack" style="color: #005ab7; font: normal normal normal 12px/16px Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;"></a>they decline. However, the curve reflecting the international odds suggests more imminent danger to the economy, although this threat is harder to calibrate using historical data and only indirectly reflects the health of the European financial system. Recession odds based on international factors peak at about 45% toward the end of 2011, but decline rapidly thereafter.</div>
<div class="chart1 Rchart" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(101, 149, 163); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 4px; border-left-color: rgb(101, 149, 163); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 4px; border-right-color: rgb(101, 149, 163); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 4px; border-top-color: rgb(101, 149, 163); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 4px; float: right; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 26px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; page-break-inside: avoid; width: 420px;">
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Figure 2<br />Recession probability forecasts</div>
<img alt="Recession probability forecasts" src="http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2011/el2011-35-2.png" style="height: 280px; page-break-inside: avoid; width: 420px;" title="Recession probability forecasts" /></div>
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The combination of these two recession coins, shown in the combined risks line of Figure 2, is quite disconcerting. It indicates that the odds are greater than 50% that we will experience a recession sometime early in 2012. Because the international odds of recession are more imprecisely estimated, one must be careful with a strict interpretation of this result. But the message is clear. Prudence suggests that the fragile state of the U.S. economy would not easily withstand turbulence coming across the Atlantic. A European sovereign debt default may well sink the United States back into recession. However, if we navigate the storm through the second half of 2012, it appears that danger will recede rapidly in 2013.</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
Most of the risk is coming from Europe, who despite repeated attempts have failed to pacify the markets. The nature of the European Union makes it difficult to make a comprehensive solution, the way the United States did with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program">TARP</a>. When compared to the USA, the EU is a very weak political union. Germans don't want to bail out other nations the way Americans bailed out their failed financial instetutions. Please see<br />
<h1 style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(74, 100, 217); border-collapse: collapse; border-left-color: rgb(74, 100, 217); border-right-color: rgb(74, 100, 217); border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.154; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 460px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/07/can-ecb-defuse-europe-liquidity-timebomb">ECB: can a lender of last resort defuse Europe's liquidity timebomb?</a></span></h1>
<br />
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Amid the head-scratching over how best to solve the eurozone's crippling sovereign debt crisis, one solution is being increasingly championed by an influential cast of economists: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">to allow the European Central Bank (ECB) to become a "lender of last resort"</span>.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">say the Nobel prizewinner Paul Krugman and other big guns</span>, will defuse a liquidity timebomb by guaranteeing that cash will always be available to pay out bondholders of government debt. They argue that absence of such a safety net is why the financial crisis has proved so virulent in the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">euro</span> area.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But despite the consensus forming among the economic elite in thinktanks and newspaper op-ed pages around the world, there is fierce opposition in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Germany</span> to any plan which would appear to give the ECB a licence to print as much money as it pleases.</span></blockquote>
Additionally, there is the question of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_hazard">moral hazard</a>. Americans were much more willing to ignore issues of moral hazard because they saw saving their economy as being more important. In Europe, on the other hand, Germany is not willing to let debtor nations off the hook so easily. Germany wants them to fully understand the consequence of their actions, with painful austerity to bring their budgets under control.<br />
<br />
The irony, however, is that cure of austerity is likely worse than the sickness for nations that have long past <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">the point of no return. The more austerity these country's implement, the worse their economies become and the less likely the are to pay off their debts. See Krugman's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 34px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/opinion/krugman-the-path-not-taken.html?_r=3&ref=opinion&wpisrc=nl_wonk">The Path Not Taken</a>:</span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Now, however, the results are in, and the picture isn’t pretty. Greece has been pushed by its austerity measures into an ever-deepening slump — and that slump, not lack of effort on the part of the Greek government, was the reason a classified report to European leaders concluded last week that the existing program there was unworkable. Britain’s economy has stalled under the impact of austerity, and confidence from both businesses and consumers has slumped, not soared.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Maybe the most telling thing is what now passes for a success story. A few months ago various pundits began hailing the achievements of Latvia, which in the aftermath of a terrible recession, nonetheless, managed to reduce its budget deficit and convince markets that it was fiscally sound. That was, indeed, impressive, but it came at the cost of 16 percent unemployment and an economy that, while finally growing, is still 18 percent smaller than it was before the crisis.</blockquote>
<br />Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-38485954551608345862011-11-13T12:26:00.001-08:002011-11-13T12:31:47.513-08:00Does Wall Street want us to be Financially Literate?The financial post has an interesting article on financially literacy and the incentives of large institutions:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.83em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Banks, brokerage firms, fund companies and insurance companies make their billions off investors who are “clueless financial illiterates,” Farrell said, listing seven reasons Wall Street doesn’t want savvy customers. “Revenues would drop substantially if financial literacy really did work.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.83em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
He attributed to University of Chicago professor Richard Thaler the quip Wall Street “needs investors who are irrational” and “woefully uninformed.”</div>
</blockquote>
Read the <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/2011/11/12/financial-literacy-push-dismissed-as-hoax/?preview=true&preview_id=110944&preview_nonce=acc9344ca9">full article here</a>.<br />
<br />
The article touches on a theme I've talked about on in other posts. For examples, see <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/10/in-world-of-finance-conflicts-are.html">Who's on the Little Guy's Side</a>, and <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/09/are-mutual-funds-scam.html">Are Mutual Funds A Scam</a>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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</blockquote>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-48451615199617145212011-11-13T10:52:00.001-08:002011-11-13T10:56:32.799-08:00100% Chance of Recession"We don't make false alarms. I've been at this for 20 years."<br />
<br />
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<br />
The European bailouts facility cannot handle saving a country the size of Italy.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile it was reviled that , <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel">Angela Merkel</a>, Chancellor of Germany, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Sarkozy">Nicolas Sarkozy</a> president of France, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/09/us-eurozone-future-sarkozy-idUSTRE7A85VV20111109">discussed a way to let countries leave the Euro</a>:
<br />
<blockquote>
German and French officials have discussed plans for a radical overhaul of the European Union that would involve establishing a more integrated and potentially smaller euro zone, EU sources say.
<br />
<br />
"France and Germany have had intense consultations on this issue over the last months, at all levels," a senior EU official in Brussels told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
<br />
<br />
"We need to move very cautiously, but the truth is that we need to establish exactly the list of those who don't want to be part of the club and those who simply cannot be part," the official said.</blockquote>
This would certainly be a back up plan for them. A country may want to leave the Euro so they can print more money and use inflation to make their debt more manageable. Under the Euro, that is not possible.Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-31972495023765738942011-11-07T11:26:00.000-08:002011-12-01T08:57:39.746-08:00How QR Codes can Benefit Your BusinessYou may have seen QR codes around and wondered what they were about. Here is an example of one:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70l2oA1kLrVSxfC4zfrBC3bqVsjYWtGgliFtOb8rsgJwWjqZ8fAxWv2-re1Sqdey5LoAQJnbACfMr8gKDyHxr2poUJ0JKm3UYQS8qJIVa1o3FAc2ocWJzDr-dIs5DuuzQRmRfRNjQPq8a/s1600/296px-Wikipedia_mobile_en.svg%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70l2oA1kLrVSxfC4zfrBC3bqVsjYWtGgliFtOb8rsgJwWjqZ8fAxWv2-re1Sqdey5LoAQJnbACfMr8gKDyHxr2poUJ0JKm3UYQS8qJIVa1o3FAc2ocWJzDr-dIs5DuuzQRmRfRNjQPq8a/s200/296px-Wikipedia_mobile_en.svg%255B1%255D.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
They are away for Smartphone users to quickly connect to your business. If you want understand QR codes, and how they can benefit your business, check out this short and very informative video:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.openforum.com/videos/american-business-cracking-the-code">http://www.openforum.com/videos/american-business-cracking-the-code</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;">The business case for using QR codes, is that they allow you to track the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">effectiveness</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;"> of your marketing and promotions.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;">The most important thing with QR codes, is that you want to give the consumer an </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">incentive</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;"> to use it. Unless you give them a discount, or </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">coupon</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;"> for using the QR code, they simply won't bother.</span></span>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-71319331266936770172011-11-06T22:55:00.000-08:002011-11-06T22:55:06.443-08:00Credit Squeeze With Chinese Loan SharksBloomberg has picked up the problems emerging in China regarding private lending, which I mentioned in a <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/09/china-loan-shark-market-crashes-scores.html">previous post</a>. I present <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-06/china-credit-squeeze-prompting-suicides-along-with-offer-to-sever-a-finger.html">China Credit Squeeze Prompts Suicides, Violence:</a>
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<blockquote>
Hours after a creditor and his gang of tattooed thugs hustled Zhong Maojin into a coffee shop in Wenzhou, he says he wouldn’t yield to their demands.<br />
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They wanted to take over one of the pharmacies in a chain he’d built by borrowing from private lenders. Instead, he made an offer of traditional retribution in this eastern Chinese city, known for loan sharks who have sometimes meted out violence to bad debtors.<br />
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“If you like, you can cut off one of my fingers instead,” Zhong, 42, says he told them.
Giving up the store would have made it impossible to pay back another 130 creditors, Zhong said. He’d borrowed 30 million yuan ($4.7 million) at interest rates as high as 7 percent a month to expand the business. Many of the lenders were elderly neighbors who’d mortgaged their homes....<br />
<br />
Small and medium-sized businesses account for 80 percent of jobs in China, according to the country’s industry ministry. Yet they’re largely unable to get loans from banks, which prefer collateral to cash-flow...
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<br /></blockquote>
Private lending in China doesn't always involve thugs. In fact, it is a way of life for many Chinese. They don't trust their stock market, and there is no social safety net. So they put their money to work in business owned by friends, family, or in their 'clan'. But it seems some Chinese are using their homes as collateral to get bank loans which they then lend out again to businesses<br />
<blockquote>
They built a lattice of interlocked credit, often borrowing from banks and other private lenders to arbitrage interest rates. Taking out bank loans at 1 percent a month, many lent out their cash for 2 percent or higher a month. They pocketed the difference to supplement meager income from odd jobs.<br />
<br />
Sitting on a small stool, gray-haired Jin Xiaoyu fills a wooden box with the electrical clamps she makes to earn 10 yuan a day. Her left eye is the milky-white color of a cataract and she says she has difficulty seeing.<br />
<br />
She lent Zhong 50,000 yuan and charged 1,000 yuan a month in interest, she said.<br />
<br />
“I worry that I cannot get the money back,” Jin says. “I hope the government will help him out.”
Some used their housing as collateral. Among them was Wu Suihua, who borrowed against her five-story home, she says
</blockquote>
When I hear things like this I get nervous about China. And then we have "<a href="http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=486448&type=Business">HK home sales fall over 50% in October</a>":<br />
<blockquote>
HONG Kong's home sales fell for a 10th straight month, dropping by half in October from a year ago as buyers put off purchases...
<br />
<br />
Real estate prices, which have surged over 70 percent since early 2009, fell for the first time in seven months in July after the government introduced new housing curbs in June. Banks raised mortgage rates in September.</blockquote>
And I look at the Shanghai stock market, which is down almost 2o% in past 12 months:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXh98hUFgjhwqaYTcJjlM54_3lQrgm5tzJQtmjmBk8msqpxgjrNx3xKJ23x5y8dDIOHB-6sg8QbjTpudEZGpu6Xnv4MViaQYFZGhz7qGi0C1Un1CW8M9G4yTLN7edRi5LwJYuEg2vnUl7-/s1600/ShangHaiDown20pct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXh98hUFgjhwqaYTcJjlM54_3lQrgm5tzJQtmjmBk8msqpxgjrNx3xKJ23x5y8dDIOHB-6sg8QbjTpudEZGpu6Xnv4MViaQYFZGhz7qGi0C1Un1CW8M9G4yTLN7edRi5LwJYuEg2vnUl7-/s400/ShangHaiDown20pct.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Are we finally seeing a significant slowdown in China?</div>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-78413862223644665452011-11-06T11:31:00.000-08:002011-11-06T11:41:04.212-08:00What does National Default Mean for Average Person<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF12JjBvgwgIYj-pPJrZIH5TyEDCzmz0QR5fODf447aM4Q3rP8IN6_XS2IAd2I1Wut0jnNCXt06kRmKt0oysBvLWr4tHdZjjvYlgo1TkIfhnI7hfxcFxg4gmTSZvKagA38ZK-n4M08b_A/s1600/Buenos_Aires_-_Manifestaci%2525C3%2525B3n_contra_el_Corralito_-_20020206-17%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF12JjBvgwgIYj-pPJrZIH5TyEDCzmz0QR5fODf447aM4Q3rP8IN6_XS2IAd2I1Wut0jnNCXt06kRmKt0oysBvLWr4tHdZjjvYlgo1TkIfhnI7hfxcFxg4gmTSZvKagA38ZK-n4M08b_A/s320/Buenos_Aires_-_Manifestaci%2525C3%2525B3n_contra_el_Corralito_-_20020206-17%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
What is it like to live in a country that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_default">defaults </a>on it's debt? We hear a lot about the effects of a default on the global economy, but we don't hear much about what the consequences are for the average person. The<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_economic_crisis_(1999%E2%80%932002)"> Argentine economic crisis of 1999-2000</a> provides us with an interesting case study. According to wikipedia, the origins of the crisis are:<br />
<blockquote>
... huge debt was acquired for money that was later lost in unfinished projects, the Falklands War, and the state's takeover of private debts; in this period, a neoliberal economic platform was introduced...the country's industries were severely affected and unemployment, calculated at 18% (though official figures claimed 5%), was at its highest point since the Great Depression.
<br />
<br />
The state eventually became unable to pay the interest of this debt and confidence in the austral collapsed. Inflation, which had been held to 10 to 20% a month, spiraled out of control. In July 1989, Argentina's inflation reached 200% that month alone, topping 5,000% for the year... unemployment did not substantially increase but real wages fell by almost half (to the lowest level in fifty years). Amid riots President Alfonsín resigned five months before ending his term and Carlos Menem, who was already President-elect, took office.
</blockquote>
<br />
It's interesting that the "state's takeover of private debts" is exactly what we are seeing now with the European bailout, and have seen with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program">TARP</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing#QE_by_the_Federal_Reserve_in_the_United_States">Quantitative Easing</a> in the United States.
<br />
The first hand account is written with a survivalist audience in mind. You can<a href="http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/10.08/tshtf1.html"> read the full article here.</a> Here is an excerpt from "ferfal's" article:
<br />
<blockquote>
One day the Minister of Economy declared that no one would be able to get more than 100 bucks a day from the ATM( correct?) nor close accounts. You could just get 100 bucks out of the bank a day. That was it.
<br />
<br />
Then came the devaluation. Before this happened 1 U$S= 1 $ Argentine peso. Suddenly this changed into 1 U$S dollar= 2 peso then 2.5 even 4 pesos. Today 1U$S= 3 Pesos.
<br />
<br />
The banks kept the people's money, including their deposits in US dollars. If you had 1000 U$S dollars in Bank Boston for example, they turned it into 1000 pesos, that equaled 333 U$S dollars. They stole 666 dollars from you!
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Prices went up 200%, 300% and sometimes more. Imagine for one moment what your life would be like if today you go to your local 7-11 and everything has gone up 200%. How would you survive with your pay check?
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<br />
The sheep got desperate. First, because they had been stolen by banks and wouldn't return the money to the people.(the so called "corralito" ) then because the classes with the lowest income found out that their salaries weren't high enough to buy the minimum food stuff to survive. The country marched asking for the presidents resignation. He had to leave the presidential palace in a chopper...
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Banks were destroyed by people that wanted their hard earned money back. Supermarkets and other shops were looted, as well as regular houses.
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This lasted for about a month, the chaos spread all over the country, concentrated in the largest cities.
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<br />
I remember being at a supermarket and the mob outside, negotiating with the manager. Sometimes, they would not destroy the place if the supermarket surrendered them the goods peacefully.
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Food got scarce. I mean, you could buy just a certain amount of milk or water, 4 bottles for example. And most imported goods disappeared. Electro domestics such as TV, videos, and refrigerators kept their prices in dollars, inaccessible for most people. The same happened with real estates, cars and luxury goods.
<br />
<br />
Today this all seems far away. Not because it got better, but because us humans have this damn capacity to " get used to".
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<br />
How did our lives change? I cant even being to explain... everything changed!
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The streets are more dangerous than ever, thanks to the general poverty.
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Education suffered thanks to this as well. Kids working or stealing to survive instead of going to school.
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How could I explain this to you?....
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<br />
For example, tools are really expensive, since most come from abroad... remember, our national industry was sold out or destroyed.
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Stuff like MRE, Emergency food bars are impossible to get. No one imports them anymore. (I paid 10 dollars for 1 MRE a guy had)
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<br />
Guns and ammo are really expensive and are sold in small quantities.
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<br />
Forget about buying a "case" of ammo! Forget it! I know it's hard for some of you to imagine this, but you just can't buy a " case" of anything. A large store may have 10 or 15 boxes of 308, 20 rounds each box. Small stores have 10. or less.
<br />
<br />
Only common ammo is available such as 22, 38, 357. 9mm, some 40 s&w, 12 ga 308 and a little 223, that's pretty much it. Ammo for my 357 sig is hard to get. I buy a box of it every time I find one around... and it's extremely expensive.
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<br />
IF you just HAVE to buy something strange like 300 magnum or 270 (strange for us J ) there's one place you can get them from but be prepared to pay +100 dollars for 20 rounds. While we are at it, there are also few models of guns, 70 % of it is used. You can find about 4 or 5 12 ga pumps, mossberg 500, Maverick or Rem 870 in each store. Handguns are relatively plentiful, not the newest models but still there's some Beretta, Glock, Colt, S&W, Walther, Taurus, Rossi and Sig. Same goes for Mausers and bolt action rifles as well as side by side shotguns.
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Semi auto rifles are hard to get. Some big gun shops have 1 FAL each. M16 are quite rare and expensive. Saw a Galil and a SKS(600 dollars) the other day, but it's not common and the red tape is HUGE. I found a good FMK3, one of the few left around, and bought it for 250 dollars, but this isn't common.
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Shoes and clothes are also, expensive, even in U$S. Labor is cheep; you can have a maid and a gardener for 300 dollars. There's no "safe" job. With 20% unemployment they pay you whatever they want and if you don't like it there are 100 persons waiting to get your job. Owning a shop-business is hard. You have to consider armed robbery (some get hit 10 times a month) and still you have to pay the police for protection (from themselves) Hope it helps, at least so you can have an idea how your world would be if this happened in your country, hope you never have to experience it in the flesh...
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Well, one thing I learned with all this is that people adapt, people get "used to".
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And finally, people accept.
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I have a hard time seeing people eat out of trash cans, that's one thing I'll never get used to.
Every night entire families, wife, husband and 2 or 3 kids, little kids about 3 years old go throw trash cans in search of food.
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At almost every light stop there's little bare foot kids begging, all dirty and skinny.
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That's the thing that affected me most, the starving children.
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One guy in another board told me he didn't care for this "bleeding Heart thing" and that "Life is rough. Get used to it." I told him that I didn't need someone that lives in San Diego, California, explain me how rough life is.
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I've seen dead people, man, I once saw a guy "sew" his mouth shut with a piece of rusted wire he got out of a broom, and all that I can handle, but a 3 year old sobbing because he's starving, Im sorry, I can't.
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Believe me, it's one thing to see a little kid starving in Africa, you probably saw that terrible image a million times, but now imagine that that kid speaks English, with an American accent, and you see the Hollywood sign in the background.
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Both cases are terrible, but the one that looks as if he could be your son and not some kid in Africa or Croatia hits a nerve. Because "those things don't happen here". It happens to others, not in my country, not in my neck of the woods.
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The author also has a blog which can be found here: <a href="http://ferfal.blogspot.com/">http://ferfal.blogspot.com/</a>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-38285647889135037462011-11-05T16:46:00.001-07:002011-11-05T16:46:39.951-07:00Greek UpdateGreek<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Papandreou"> Prime Minister George Papandreou</a> and the wrangling with the opposition is creating uncertainty for global financial markets. Greece needs to pass the bailout to avoid complete default, but the issue has been turned into a political football.
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<object type='application/x-shockwave-flash' data='http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?videoId=224297759&edition=BETAUS' id='rcomVideo_224297759' width='460' height='259'> <param name='movie' value='http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?videoId=224297759&edition=BETAUS'></param> <param name='allowFullScreen' value='true'></param> <param name='allowScriptAccess' value='always'></param> <param name='wmode' value='transparent'></param> <embed src='http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?videoId=224297759&edition=BETAUS' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' allowfullscreen='true' allowScriptAccess='always' width='460' height='259' wmode='transparent'></embed> </object>Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-18831347888137891792011-11-05T10:15:00.001-07:002011-11-05T10:16:02.815-07:00Occupy Oakland - UpdateIn my previous post <a href="http://nerdinvest.blogspot.com/2011/11/labour-unrest-grows.html">Labor Unrest Grows</a>, I described how protesters marched on the Port of Oakland, and had a violent confrontation with police. Today I have a video that shows the size of the crowd, which was reported as being 7,000 in the article I quoted. Please watch:<br />
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Seeing the size of the protest puts things in perspective. I don't think it's 100,000 as the video claims, but regardless it's a big crowd. Unrest has come to the united stats.<br />
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We've seen protests in Iran, the Middle East, North Africa, and now the USA. And I feel that it is just starting.<br />
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How will the American government react to the growing unrest? What if their was another financial crisis? The tone of the protests suggests to me that the political cost of bailouts is going up fast.Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-83673942438757683942011-11-04T19:36:00.000-07:002011-11-04T19:36:52.613-07:00How Does Canada Compare to Dead Beat Europeans?We've heard a lot about the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13798000">Greek and European debt crisis</a> recently. And if you live in Canada, you've heard a lot about how great the economy and our <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/2011/08/09/canadian-banks-a-great-place-to-hide/">banks </a>are since 2008.<br />
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But are things really that great in Canada? Here is the list 15 countries with the highest <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt-to-GDP_ratio">debt-to-GDP ratios</a> in the world.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Zimbabwe<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>234.1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Japan<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>197.5<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />3<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Saint Kitts and Nevis<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>185.0<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2009 est.<br />4<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Lebanon<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>133.8<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />5<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Jamaica<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>126.5<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />6<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Iceland<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>126.1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />7<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Italy<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>118.4<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />8<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Greece<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>116.0c<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2011 est.<br />9<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Singapore<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>105.8<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Barbados<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>102.1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />11<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Belgium<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>96.2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />12<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Ireland<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>94.9<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />13<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Portugal<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>93.3<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />14<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Sudan<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>92.6<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.<br />15<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Canada<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>84.0<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2010 est.</blockquote>
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Canada is 15th out of 133 of the world's nations. But look more carefully at the list. If we exclude very small or very dysfunctional countries like Zimbabwe, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Lebanon, Jamica, Iceland, Barbados, and Sudan, we see that Canada is 8th.<br />
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Is that anything to be proud of?<br />Rajpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15523705767722440000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-505205059965604853.post-60592886947140018132011-11-04T16:55:00.000-07:002011-11-05T10:16:57.096-07:00Understanding The European Debt CrisisThe New York Times has an interesting and interactive page that explains the European debt crisis, how things are interconnected, and financial problems act like "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_contagion">cotangent</a>" and spread. See it here:
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/23/sunday-review/an-overview-of-the-euro-crisis.html?scp=2&sq=debt%20crisis%20infographic&st=cse">http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/23/sunday-review/an-overview-of-the-euro-crisis.html?scp=2&sq=debt%20crisis%20infographic&st=cse</a><br />
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