Canadian economy stalls in April – Ottowa Citizen
Statistics Canada said there was a “large decline” in the retail sector in April, and lesser contractions in manufacturing and utilities, which were offset by gains in mining, wholesale, the public sector and construction.
Schwarzenegger orders min wage for state workers – AP
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday ordered about 200,000 state workers to be paid the federal minimum wage this month because the state Legislature has not passed a budget, but the state controller is refusing to comply.
Why This Is a Full-on Great Reset – The Atlantic, Richard Florida
While some do not want to face the looming reality, it is becoming clearer every single day that what we face is not any typical recession but a full-blown economic reset. My own look at the previous two similar crises shows that Great Resets like what we are now going through are generation-spanning events which require deep changes in economic, institutional, and spatial structures.
Are our economic policymakers ready for the enormity of the challenges we face - the deep and fundamental changes in our economic system, from what we produce to what we consume – required to restore economic prosperity?
Why Is Fannie Mae Waging War on Solar Panels? – The Atlantic, Daniel Indiviglio
This might seem odd, especially if you consider another strange action on the part of Fannie that we learned about back in May…
Myths of Austerity – Paul Krugman
Yes, America has long-run budget problems, but what we do on stimulus over the next couple of years has almost no bearing on our ability to deal with these long-run problems.
Real Estate Will Lead Economy into Depression – Yahoo Finance
How does the new rule 157 work? In an oversimplified example, bank A holds a securitized pool of mortgage-backed assets originally valued at $100. After modeling the future cash flow of the pool, the bank determines it will ultimately collect $95. The credit loss is $5. However, due to economic factors, the MBA pool is currently worth only $40, a $60 loss. The difference between the two calculations ($60 – $5) is the noncredit loss – $55.
The new rule 157 allows banks to dump the noncredit loss into an account, which is not recognized on the banks’ income statements. As such, credit losses do not show up in the earnings numbers. Therefore, earnings are grossly overstated.
Falling real estate prices intensify the already bad situation as the gap between what banks’ think they’ll be able to sell their assets for eventually in a healthy market and what they are worth currently, continues to widen.
Cash calls expected as Europe’s banks face tests – FT
How NOT To Re-Inflate a Bubble – Financial Sense
If I had to pick the single most important law of economics to focus on I’d choose the law of supply and demand.
Drink. Trade. Refill. Lose $10 Million. – NYT
“Mr. Perkins’s explanation for his trading on 29 and 30 June is that he was drunk,” the F.S.A. said. “He claims to have limited recollection of events on Monday and claims to have been in an alcohol-induced blackout at the time he traded.”
Loan Giants Threaten Energy-Efficiency Programs – NYT
The Obama administration is devoting $150 million in stimulus money for programs that help homeowners install solar panels and other energy improvements, which they pay for over time on their property tax bills.
At the same time, the two government-chartered agencies that buy and resell most home mortgages are threatening to derail the effort by warning that they might not accept loans for homes that take advantage of the special financing.
Spain may need financial rescue, says Merrill – Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Spain’s debt crisis may force the country to tap the EU-IMF rescue fund over the next two to three months and set off a political storm, according a confidential report by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The reported jobs were barely enough to hold the unemployment rate steady, yet the unemployment rate only dropped because workers opted out of the work force.
U.S. Flag Recalled After Causing 143 Million Deaths – The Onion
Read all of The Onion’s Patriotic Articles.
