Invasive Tactic in Foreclosures Draws Scrutiny – NYTimes.com
“Barry Tatum returned to his home in Chicago in December to find that his front and back doors had been torn from their hinges, leaving his possessions exposed to the frigid winds that whipped through his neighborhood.
Terrified that he had been robbed, Mr. Tatum, who had fallen behind on his Bank of America mortgage, raced inside only to discover an unlikely source of the break-in, he said: a subcontractor for a property management firm hired by the bank. A letter from the subcontractor informed Mr. Tatum that the bank had the right to enter and secure the property, according to a copy reviewed by The New York Times.”
Chemical Disarmament Hard Even in Peacetime – NYTimes.com
“Destruction and deactivation of those weapons could then take years.
The Obama administration is skeptical about whether this approach might work. A senior administration official called securing chemical arms in a war zone “just the first nightmare of making this work.”
A Pentagon study concluded that doing so would take more than 75,000 troops. That rough estimate has been questioned, but the official said it gave “a sense of the magnitude of the task.” “
America’s economic growth is built on sand – FT.com
“Four years on, that rebalancing has stalled; the US is building again, but on foundations of sand. It is depressing to consider, but on its current path the US is headed back to the same economic structure as before the recession: driven by consumption and sucking in imports. These are the first steps towards a future crisis.”
Washington & Wall Street: Lehman Brothers and the Failure of Regulation
“So when you think about the lessons from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, don’t forget that the actions and omission of key regulators aided and abetted this calamity. Not only did officials like Corrigan, Greenspan, and many others look the other way while Lehman was creating the circumstances for its own demise, but they did nothing to head off the crisis even when confronted by clear warning signs.
The moral of the story of Lehman Brothers is that no amount of regulation can prevent acts of wanton stupidity, fraud, and greed in a free society. Expecting regulators to proactively prevent a financial crisis is at best wishful thinking. In the end, the failure and bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers was the best and only outcome for ending this latest nightmare on Wall Street. “
Twitter / nokia_uk: Thanks, #Apple ;) …
This tweet from Nokia has gone viral
Sheila Bair: U.S. Banking System Still Fragile – Real Time Economics – WSJ
“In this special Crisis Plus 5 series of The Big Interview, former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair reflects on the five-year anniversary of the 2008 financial collapse, telling WSJ’s David Wessel the banking system in the U.S. remains fragile but that regulators succeeded in enforcing higher capital requirements for big banks.
Transcript of the interview”
Embracing Wynne Godley, an Economist Who Modeled the Crisis – NYTimes.com
“If the economics profession takes on the challenge of reworking the mainstream models that famously failed to predict the crisis, it might well turn to one of the few economists who saw it coming, Wynne Godley of the Levy Economics Institute. Mr. Godley, unfortunately, died at 83 in 2010, perhaps too soon to bask in the credit many feel he deserves. “
ekathimerini.com | EU lawyers say plan for financial transaction tax is illegal
“A plan to tax financial transactions in 11 European Union member states from 2014 is illegal, the bloc’s lawyers have concluded, dealing what could be a final blow to the measure as proposed.
The findings set out in a 14-page legal opinion obtained by Reuters will make it harder to press ahead with a measure aimed at making banks pay about 35 billion euros a year to make up for receiving taxpayer aid during the 2007-09 financial crisis.”
Japan PM Abe moves toward tax hike, orders economic stimulus | Reuters
So this looks like tax and spend to me. While I don’t support it, it does give Japan the potential to overcome the deflation better than just tax alone. But I still believe that incremental taxes without incremental spending will lead to a drag that would cause a lapse back into anemic growth.
UBS ruft 80er-Jahre-Boom in Erinnerung – News Wirtschaft: Unternehmen – tagesanzeiger.ch
While UBS is expecting higher growth in Switzerland, it is also warning of the potential for overheating, especially in the property sector. The bank recalls the 1980s when a property bubble and bust led to serious pain for the economy and inflation up to 6%.
China output at 17-month high as economy stabilises – Telegraph
“Stronger-than-expected industrial output reinforced signs that China’s economy is stabilising after slowing for more than two years, just as major emerging markets brace for potential fallout from an expected trimming of US stimulus. “
ECB’s Asmussen sees risk of large spillovers from Fed tightening | Reuters
“The spillover effects of the U.S. central bank unwinding its policy stimulus risk being greater now than in 1994, and that episode highlights the importance of clearly communicating exit strategies from expansionary policies, an ECB policymaker said.”
Immigration and Abenomics revisited | FT Alphaville
“Credit Suisse have a handy reminder out about the immigration issue in Japan which is worth a read”
Latin America Faces Fresh Challenges as China’s Growth Slows – China Real Time Report – WSJ
“It was great while it lasted, but now that China’s economy is off the boil, the commodities-producing countries of Latin America are facing years of painful adjustments.”
ekathimerini.com | Primary surplus offers glimmer of hope
“The state budget showed a net primary surplus of 1.4 billion euros in the first eight months of the year, creating optimism at the Finance Ministry for the attainment of the target for a primary surplus on an annual basis. The problem with revenues is proving more stubborn as they continue to lag by 1 billion euros”
Fingerprint analysis: will the iPhone’s newest sensor change the world again? | The Verge
“The era of one-tap authentication is about to begin. Apple’s announcement today of a fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5s brings biometrics into the mainstream, enabling fast and secure access to your smartphone while also enabling one-tap purchases through iTunes. “
Why Does John Kerry Still Have a Job? « naked capitalism
Good comments on the US domestic political ramifications of the Syrian crisis for President Obama and his team
Sober Look: French growth still lagging; is economic improvement on the way?
“France is having a difficult time generating economic growth. While PMI indicators show signs of stabilization, economic data in general has not been great”
Some 95% of 2009-2012 Income Gains Went to Wealthiest 1% – Real Time Economics – WSJ
Key Republican Changes Mind On Defunding The NSA | TechCrunch
Apple iPhone 5s and 5c: everything you need to know | The Verge
iPhone 5s and 5c: comparing Apple’s latest against the best phones out there | The Verge
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