Proposed rule 22e–3(a) would permit a money market fund to suspend redemptions if: (i) The fund’s current price per share, calculated pursuant to rule 2a–7(c), is less than the fund’s stable net asset value per share; (ii) its board of directors, including a majority of directors who are not interested persons, approves the liquidation of the fund; and (iii) the fund, prior to suspending redemptions, notifies the Commission of its decision to liquidate and suspend redemptions, by electronic mail directed to the attention of our Director of the Division of Investment Management or the Director’s designee. These proposed conditions are intended to ensure that any suspension of redemptions will be consistent with the underlying policies of section 22(e). We understand that suspending redemptions may impose hardships on investors who rely on their ability to redeem shares. Accordingly, our proposal is limited to permitting suspension of this statutory protection only in extraordinary circumstances. Thus, the proposed conditions, which are similar to those of the temporary rule, are designed to limit the availability of the rule to circumstances that present a significant risk of a run on the fund. Moreover, the exemption would require action of the fund board (including the independent directors), which would be acting in its capacity as a fiduciary. The proposed rule contains an additional provision that would permit us to take steps to protect investors. Specifically, the proposed rule would permit us to rescind or modify the relief provided by the rule (and thus require the fund to resume honoring redemptions) if, for example, a liquidating fund has not devised, or is not properly executing, a plan of liquidation that protects fund shareholders. Under this provision, the Commission may modify the relief ‘‘after appropriate notice and opportunity for hearing,’’ in accordance with section 40 of the Act.
<< <i>I don't make many short term metals calls because I don't like being wrong.
I'm gioing to break this rule to suggest the bull is warming up. This charge may not be THE charge but I do believe the bottom is in or will be within a couple days. I'd expect some drama soon in the silver market. >>
Is "The Nightmare on Elm Street" a drama? >>
For practical purposes I think the low is in. Asia will open sharply lower and then will turn up to have the biggest one day gain in history. Gold won't be too shabby either. Copper will shine.
I say I hate to be wrong but I am very good at it.
On a somwhat related note, my buddy belongs to a very large union. Their contract expires in April and are planning to go on strike. I wished him good luck. Gonna be a long year for some folks.
The January jobs report coming out Friday should not be good as January's BLS BDM input is usually around -350,000 just to start...a big hole to dig out from. Considering that the "blackbox" BDM adds about 900,000-1,000,000 jobs per year regardless of whether the economy is booming or busting, I don't have a lot of faith in any monthly estimates that are >0.
Did you see that piece that Peter Schiff did on Samoa. He said that the recent min wage bill was applied to Samoa for the first time against the wishes of that country because it would likely lead to more lost jobs. And in fact it turned out just that way. The min wage application has forced tuna canneries to leave the islands and go where wages are more competitive. Net result was thousands of jobs lost and a net loss for that economy. Originally, Speaker Pelosi was going to leave Samoa exempt from the bill. But some people were up in arms that the poor Samoans should not have to work for low wages and got them added to the bill. Well, they got their wish. The ones that are still working are making a better wage.
<< <i>The January jobs report coming out Friday should not be good as January's BLS BDM input is usually around -350,000 just to start...a big hole to dig out from. Considering that the "blackbox" BDM adds about 900,000-1,000,000 jobs per year regardless of whether the economy is booming or busting, I don't have a lot of faith in any monthly estimates that are >0.
Did you see that piece that Peter Schiff did on Samoa. He said that the recent min wage bill was applied to Samoa for the first time against the wishes of that country because it would likely lead to more lost jobs. And in fact it turned out just that way. The min wage application has forced tuna canneries to leave the islands and go where wages are more competitive. Net result was thousands of jobs lost and a net loss for that economy. Originally, Speaker Pelosi was going to leave Samoa exempt from the bill. But some people were up in arms that the poor Samoans should not have to work for low wages and got them added to the bill. Well, they got their wish. The ones that are still working are making a better wage.
roadrunner >>
If anyone has a link to that one I'd like to see it
Darn, was just reading one of the threads on Kitco and of the 5 banks taken over Friday, the least overvalued any of those bank's assets were was 60%.....the worst?.....109%! Imagine if we as consumers couldn't figure out our net assets to within 100%!
Does the pain keep going for everyone or just some?
For fun I used Zillow to look up some nice houses right by the Pacific Ocean in beach communities along the central coast of California. I was there last weekend with a friend and wanted to see what houses we walked by sell for.
On one street there were three listed, two without a price but entered foreclosure in the last month. Two others just down the coast listed for sale at $2.2M that had Zillow estimates of $760K. One needed court permission to sell?
The city is Pismo Beach. Is this indicative of that level of real estate coming back to earth?
AJ2525, There are multiple issues with the examples you posted, but the most important is the jumbo loan factor. Houses priced higher than the jumbo loan limit just aren't selling. That's because the banks aren't lending and there is no FNMA or FMAC backing for jumbo loans. So the only way jumbo properties sell is if people have at least 20% down (if not more) and spotless credit or all-cash. That whittles down the # of buyers considerably and is killing high-end real estate.
<< <i>The January jobs report coming out Friday should not be good as January's BLS BDM input is usually around -350,000 just to start...a big hole to dig out from. Considering that the "blackbox" BDM adds about 900,000-1,000,000 jobs per year regardless of whether the economy is booming or busting, I don't have a lot of faith in any monthly estimates that are >0.
Did you see that piece that Peter Schiff did on Samoa. He said that the recent min wage bill was applied to Samoa for the first time against the wishes of that country because it would likely lead to more lost jobs. And in fact it turned out just that way. The min wage application has forced tuna canneries to leave the islands and go where wages are more competitive. Net result was thousands of jobs lost and a net loss for that economy. Originally, Speaker Pelosi was going to leave Samoa exempt from the bill. But some people were up in arms that the poor Samoans should not have to work for low wages and got them added to the bill. Well, they got their wish. The ones that are still working are making a better wage.
roadrunner >>
Roadrunner, by saying this do you promote slave labor for inferior pay?
Samoa is a American territory & those tuna cannery's are American company's.
I see company's every where hiring "cheap illegal alien labor" in the USA.
Then people complain that the illegal aliens are the problem.
Until SLAVE labor is gone, the playing field will NEVER be level.
Roadrunner, by saying this do you promote slave labor for inferior pay?
By saying the above I promote paying workers the fairest and best wage possible in their competitive markets. Did you even read the article? One's net living standards is what's important, not the gross dollar amount earned per hour. We could raise the min wage nationwide to $14/hr tomorrow because it seems "fair." And the net result would be a huge loss of jobs and net revenue to the govt. That's no different than what they did to Somoa where their previous "min" wage was essentially doubled overnight. Congress applied the St. Thomas Aquinas method (ie a "fair" price) of pricing goods/labor rather than letting the markets work.
I promote what's best for Somoan industry and its workers. Clearly the best path was to leave them exempt from min wages until there was industry available that could function under a $7+/hr wage. From an economic theory standpoint minimum wages creates distortions in the economy and misallocates goods/services. This is especially visible during downturns. Seems to me that when the Samoans themselves asked to be exempted they were deciding what's best for them. The term "slave" labor wasn't the proper term to use but no doubt that type of terminology was used by the backers of the bill to get it applied to Somoa. After all $3-$4/hr "seems" like an unfair wage that goes back decades....St. Thomas Aquinas would probably agree. By that I meant the Somoan canneries worked for a comparatively low gross wages. But their living standards and general economy were better off at $3-4/hr that it is now at $7/hr.
Gsa1fan, since you apparently agreed with the actions to raise the min wage in Somoa what would you do now to restore the lost industry or do you feel that as a whole they are now better off having 45% unemployment and "fair" wages? Would you support an ammendment to the min wage bill to exempt Somoa or just let the newly unemployed fend for themselves for years to come?
After the unions and managements of GM & Chrysler both got done raping the car companies for everything they were worth, is it any wonder that they are no longer viable in providing stable jobs in a competitive marketplace?
The biggest problem in letting the markets work is that the inept, lazy, unskilled, under-educated and vulnerable have no one to guarantee their success.
Q: Are You Printing Money? Bernanke: Not Literally
"Gsa1fan, since you apparently agreed with the actions to raise the min wage in Somoa what would you do now to restore the lost industry or do you feel that as a whole they are now better off having 45% unemployment and "fair" wages? Would you support an ammendment to the min wage bill to exempt Somoa or just let the newly unemployed fend for themselves for years to come?"
I would support amending what ever Samoans decided is best for them.
Lower wage with higher employment is the way to proceed, with incentives based on performance.
Added to that: lower income, property, sales tax AND eliminate taxes on goods and services and just maybe folks at the bottom of the pay scale can afford to live well! What a new concept.
Companies go overseas for wage benefits, but they also avoid all the other taxes and regulations imposed by our BIG government control. What do you think is added to the price of a car with all it's regulatory mandates? Let's even the playing field and we'll solve this unemployment mess and grow GDP.
Until then, it's the downward spiral of America's manufacturing base. One step at a time commrades, we'll turn the tide on this socialist movement. Going to try and buy alittle silver today.
I read an interesting article several weeks ago that claimed U.S. wages were too high by about 20%. The article suggested inflation of the U.S. dollar would cure our wage issue.
I find it interesting that employment is up in Japan while wages are down.
Mr. Friedman's book [The World is Flat] impressed me that we do not compete for jobs on a local level anymore, we compete against workers all over the world. An awfully lot of jobs can be done anywhere and it is in companies' interest to have those jobs done at the lowest price they can.
I read an interesting article several weeks ago that claimed U.S. wages were too high by about 20%. The article suggested inflation of the U.S. dollar would cure our wage issue.
I find it interesting that employment is up in Japan while wages are down.
Mr. Friedman's book [The World is Flat] impressed me that we do not compete for jobs on a local level anymore, we compete against workers all over the world. An awfully lot of jobs can be done anywhere and it is in companies' interest to have those jobs done at the lowest price they can. >>
Wages are too high. My buddy's son works(ed) for a local grocery store chain, approx 80 stores, that just went bankrupt. He worked in a warehouse making $17/hr, + benefits--total pay was over $25/hr. Think about, $25/hr to have someone move boxes around. Ridiculous!!!! No wonder the store went under. This country needs deflation. Dont fight it Bernanke, embrace it.
I read an interesting article several weeks ago that claimed U.S. wages were too high by about 20%. The article suggested inflation of the U.S. dollar would cure our wage issue.
I find it interesting that employment is up in Japan while wages are down.
Mr. Friedman's book [The World is Flat] impressed me that we do not compete for jobs on a local level anymore, we compete against workers all over the world. An awfully lot of jobs can be done anywhere and it is in companies' interest to have those jobs done at the lowest price they can. >>
Wages are too high. My buddy's son works(ed) for a local grocery store chain, approx 80 stores, that just went bankrupt. He worked in a warehouse making $17/hr, + benefits--total pay was over $25/hr. Think about, $25/hr to have someone move boxes around. Ridiculous!!!! No wonder the store went under. This country needs deflation. Dont fight it Bernanke, embrace it. >>
Rich richer ~ poor poorer = bottom line profits for CEO's & stock holders. To hell with J6P. $17 a hour is a decent wage.
$35,000 a year pay. Cars cost 20-30K & house's 100K+. Poverty I think is 22K a year now.
I copied this in a newsletter that I subscribe to, and it seems to make sense.
Obama's State of the Onion speech has foretold the direction of the dollar: Down.As if we didn't know this already, but some on here think do think it will go up. Here's why it's going down. I have chopped and edited this to keep it short.
In his Jan. 27 State Of The Union address, President Obama stated that he wanted to take steps to double the country’s exports within the next 5 years, helping fix the trade deficit and also creating more jobs in the process.
When considering whether or not the U.S. even could double exports over a 5-year period, it is important for us to note that it has happened before. Back in the mid-1970s, exports grew strongly thanks to the weakening dollar. The U.S. went off the gold standard in 1971, partly because of foreign exchange pressures. Export growth stayed high until the Dollar Index started rising in 1980. That strong dollar killed export growth.
We have just recently seen another upsurge in exports growth, again thanks to a declining dollar. 2008 data is the most recent year available, and exports then were up 79% versus 2003 levels. Perhaps if the dollar keeps on weakening, we can get to a 100% 5-year growth rate, although that weaker dollar might not be a good thing in terms of other aspects of our economy.
The middle chart compares the same export growth rate data to the CPI-U inflation rate. You can see that rising inflation tends to be associated with rising exports, and vice versa. That makes some sense, since inflation in the dollar affects the value of the dollar, which we saw above has a relationship to exports growth. If running a higher inflation rate is what’s typically needed to get high export growth, then it may not be a price worth paying.
The implication is that increasing our exports would lead to more jobs, and that idea seems to make sense. If we are making more stuff and sending it overseas, then presumably more people should be employed to accomplish that. But here again, the actual data tell us a different story. The bottom chart compares this same 5-year exports growth rate to the total nonfarm payrolls number. It turns out that every instance of rapid growth in exports has been associated with a flat or even down period for job growth, including this most recent one.
$35,000 a year pay. Cars cost 20-30K & house's 100K+. Poverty I think is 22K a year now.
It's pretty simple. If one cannot afford a $25K new car, a house, etc.....you don't buy them. This worked 30 years ago. If you can't afford it don't buy it. Decent used cars can be purchased for $4K-10K. And those mechanically inclined that can afford the occasional downtime can cut those prices even further. I've never bought a new car and probably never will. My last car was a 1997 Lincoln w/29,000 miles when I bought it in 2001 for $5K. My replacement 2002 Lincoln w/22K miles was bought 3 months ago for $9K. The 1997 is still doing winter duty but at 221,000 miles it's getting close to permanent retirement. Mechanically the car has never had an issue except for brakes/tires/2 rear suspension bushings. I even looked into the cash for clunkers deal back in September but found that even with a $4.5K rebate on junking my fully depreciated 1997 I'd still be into a decent-sized and optioned new car for $15K-20K. But a stripped Toyota Yaris (econobox) would have netted me in at around the $10K point....lol. Forget it if I wanted a mid to full sized car.
Why? Because it's time for the annual revision to the BLS jobs number. It's no secret that the Birth Death Model has been tossing in about 950,000 new jobs per year into the mix regardless of downward trending economic conditions. Those extra jobs sure helped the feel-good syndrome during 2006-2008 period. If the BLS had any sense they'd just toss out these additions entirely and just go bareback for awhile. A revision down of approx 824,000 jobs to account for April 2008 - March 2009 will effectively wash out all the BDM inputs.....as expected. Mish notes what about the million jobs added from April 2009 to date? Well, that will set us up for another negative 824,000 jobs revision next year at this time. So for all those positive jobs report you see each month, subtract out an average of 68K each month before you decide how good they were.
Point is my buddy's son was getting paid $50k in total compensation for a job a monkey could do. As long as we pay unskilled workers 50k, we will always have too many unskilled workers. There is no incentive to better oneself when all you have to do is push boxes around and live an average lifestyle.
Roadrunner, the G is gonna add 1 million new census workers this year, so they should be able to "manage" the unemployment numbers at current levels. Later this year and in 2011 when those people counters go bye-bye, this economy had better pick up some steam, or its gonna get ugly real quick.
Yes it will. In fact 1 million census workers will only drop the U3 unemployment number about 0.6% and many of them (census workers) have already been hired.
//////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
I'm not currently being counted as unemployed even though I was laid-off May 1, 2009 and have been collecting unemployment insurance ever since.
You see I'm now a full-time student working on an MBA and technically not "unemployed". There's currently 9 million Americans who are unemployed but not included in the traditional U6 number! U6 is supposed to pick up everybody right? Wrong! It's at 26 million and grossly under-reported.
As shocking as it may sound, we're at depression level unemployment with nearly 35 million people in the invisible "U". Our real U6 number is around 24%.
55% of the citizens of the United States are now drawing some type of gov't assistance. It will take half a decade to get out of this hole. I thought 9/11 left a big hole in the ground. It was nothing compared to the crater left by D.C. & Wall Street in 2008. Nothing.
Now I still paid my fair share of taxes in 2009 with about $9K going to D.C. and $3K going to Des Moines. That will be vastly different this year but hopefully in 2011, with MBA in hand, I can land a nice job in Mergers & Aquisitions at Goldman-Sachs! I hear they plan to buy a nice chunk of real estate on Pennsylvania Ave.
I agree cohodk, it's ridiculous to pay someone more than $10/hr to do nothing more than put hubcaps on a car.
For the entire 1900's the US had an amazing advantage that allowed the US to make goods for the rest of the world and charge them top dollar for it. That era is over. The appeal, the lure of slavery by US corporations was eventually too hard to exist as enablers such as efficient transportation and the Internet made it more feasible than ever. Now, things will inevitably seek to equalize with the 3rd world advancing and the US falling back.
Yes it will. In fact 1 million census workers will only drop the U3 unemployment number about 0.6% and many of them (census workers) have already been hired.
//////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
I'm not currently being counted as unemployed even though I was laid-off May 1, 2009 and have been collecting unemployment insurance ever since.
You see I'm now a full-time student working on an MBA and technically not "unemployed". There's currently 9 million Americans who are unemployed but not included in the traditional U6 number! U6 is supposed to pick up everybody right? Wrong! It's at 26 million and grossly under-reported.
As shocking as it may sound, we're at depression level unemployment with nearly 35 million people in the invisible "U". Our real U6 number is around 24%.
55% of the citizens of the United States are now drawing some type of gov't assistance. It will take half a decade to get out of this hole. I thought 9/11 left a big hole in the ground. It was nothing compared to the crater left by D.C. & Wall Street in 2008. Nothing.
Now I still paid my fair share of taxes in 2009 with about $9K going to D.C. and $3K going to Des Moines. That will be vastly different this year but hopefully in 2011, with MBA in hand, I can land a nice job in Mergers & Aquisitions at Goldman-Sachs! I hear they plan to buy a nice chunk of real estate on Pennsylvania Ave. >>
you should know this then. I work for the state in corrections. My job may get axed in July of 2011. So if I go back to school I can carry unemployment until I have my BA? I have 66 hours now getting ready to transfer them to a four year school in September. I have an aortic dissection which has resulted in an abdominal aortic aneurysm still unrepaired in me so I can't do manual labor as my lifting limit is around 40 pounds and my top number in my blood pressure cannot be allowed to spike. Does this mean that the govt' would give me a year or two to allow me to get my degree in case I get laid off next year?
you should know this then...My job may get axed in July of 2011. So if I go back to school I can carry unemployment until I have my BA? I have 66 hours now getting ready to transfer them to a four year school in September. I have an aortic dissection....aneurysm still unrepaired in me so I can't do manual labor as my lifting limit is around 40 pounds....Does this mean that the govt' would give me a year or two to allow me to get my degree in case I get laid off next year?
Sorry to hear about your health problems. I would make the retention of health insurance a top priority if I were you. The Stimulus Bill allowed me to maintain all medical/dental insurance for 18 months by paying 1/3 of my group rate. That is set to expire this summer so I will be switching over to student health insurance later this year.
RE: Your BA. It's tough to tell. The Stimulus Bill has me classified as a displaced worker but again, you will need to verify what's going on in 2011. I can tell you that I am allowed to collect unemploymwnt insurance for 18 months while attending school full-time. Sounds like you will need a minimum of 54 semester hours for a bachelor's degree, so you are looking at 2 years of full-time classes to get there.
One year of unemployment insurance benefits is virtually guaranteed for everyone who is involuntarily terminated with adequate benefits accrued. Beyond that may be a crap shoot. Take care of the health issues first and foremost, the other stuff usually has a way of working out. Best of Luck!
Thanks Red. Some people ask me how I manage to work corrections with these issues. Easy. I work midnights. Anyway, my doc said he would force me into disability if I ever decided to leave midnights. That is not an option for me. I want to work. Fortunately for me my wife is an RN making very good money so losing unemployment wouldn't be devistating and my wife has verified that if I were to lose my job her company health ins would have to take me. One good thing is I have only one more CT scan in September and if that comes back still unchanged then I'll just have to have an annual ultra sound. Layoff or not I'm looking into changing jobs by 2014 anyway and hopefully the job market improves somewhat by then out west around Sacramento. Probably will have to take a paycut to do so, but I cannot handle the thought of spending the rest of my working days on midnights shift so a jb change is in the works anyway within 5 years. If I can keep the pace of two classes per semester and one each summer I hope to have close to 90 hours in by August of 2011 anyway. Good luck with your education!
Some know-it-all on CNBC is saying that the only thing that will provide diversification now is US Treasuries, because every other asset class just got hit so hard.
Say what? It sounds like a plan to herd people into US debt, eh?
Rick Santelli responded, "don't be squatting in US Treasuries for very long" and the only reason that US Treasuries look good is because the flies are thicker on all the other piles around you........
lol, I'll go with Santelli's perspective for now.
Q: Are You Printing Money? Bernanke: Not Literally
Don't worry about gold. As long as the government plays with the dollar's value it's food you'll really want to worry about. They'll dsrive the DOW to zero and then when they artificially prop it back up with government money things won't run.
I knew the recovery in 1987 was going to be bad news in the long run. It taught the government that tinkering with dynamite is a safe wholesome activity that can be enjoyed around the house or around the street.
Comments
Proposed rule 22e–3(a) would permit a money market fund to suspend redemptions if: (i) The fund’s current price per share, calculated pursuant to rule 2a–7(c), is less than the fund’s stable net asset value per share; (ii) its board of directors, including a majority of directors who are not interested persons, approves the liquidation of the fund; and (iii) the fund, prior to suspending redemptions, notifies the Commission of its decision to liquidate and suspend redemptions, by electronic mail directed to the attention of our Director of the Division of Investment Management or the Director’s designee. These proposed conditions are intended to ensure that any suspension of redemptions will be consistent with the underlying policies of section 22(e). We understand that suspending redemptions may impose hardships on investors who rely on their ability to redeem shares. Accordingly, our proposal is limited to permitting suspension of this statutory protection only in extraordinary circumstances. Thus, the proposed conditions, which are similar to those of the temporary rule, are designed to limit the availability of the rule to circumstances that present a significant risk of a run on the fund. Moreover, the exemption would require action of the fund board (including the independent directors), which would be acting in its capacity as a fiduciary. The proposed rule contains an additional provision that would permit us to take steps to protect investors. Specifically, the proposed rule would permit us to rescind or modify the relief provided by the rule (and thus require the fund to resume honoring redemptions) if, for example, a liquidating fund has not devised, or is not properly executing, a plan of liquidation that protects fund shareholders. Under this provision, the Commission may modify the relief ‘‘after appropriate notice and opportunity for hearing,’’ in accordance with section 40 of the Act.
Four more banks failed this week. Tally?
<< <i>
<< <i>I don't make many short term metals calls because I don't like being wrong.
I'm gioing to break this rule to suggest the bull is warming up. This charge may not be THE charge
but I do believe the bottom is in or will be within a couple days. I'd expect some drama soon in the
silver market. >>
Is "The Nightmare on Elm Street" a drama? >>
For practical purposes I think the low is in. Asia will open sharply lower and
then will turn up to have the biggest one day gain in history. Gold won't be too
shabby either. Copper will shine.
I say I hate to be wrong but I am very good at it.
However if it happens before a down day I'm going to claim I was right anyway.
The economy added 130,000 jobs in December, the biggest jump in four months.......................Monthly wages including overtime and bonuses slipped 6.1 percent from a year earlier
On a somwhat related note, my buddy belongs to a very large union. Their contract expires in April and are planning to go on strike. I wished him good luck. Gonna be a long year for some folks.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
Did you see that piece that Peter Schiff did on Samoa. He said that the recent min wage bill was applied to Samoa for the first time against the wishes of that country because it would likely lead to more lost jobs. And in fact it turned out just that way. The min wage application has forced tuna canneries to leave the islands and go where wages are more competitive. Net result was thousands of jobs lost and a net loss for that economy. Originally, Speaker Pelosi was going to leave Samoa exempt from the bill. But some people were up in arms that the poor Samoans should not have to work for low wages and got them added to the bill. Well, they got their wish. The ones that are still working are making a better wage.
roadrunner
<< <i>The January jobs report coming out Friday should not be good as January's BLS BDM input is usually around -350,000 just to start...a big hole to dig out from. Considering that the "blackbox" BDM adds about 900,000-1,000,000 jobs per year regardless of whether the economy is booming or busting, I don't have a lot of faith in any monthly estimates that are >0.
Did you see that piece that Peter Schiff did on Samoa. He said that the recent min wage bill was applied to Samoa for the first time against the wishes of that country because it would likely lead to more lost jobs. And in fact it turned out just that way. The min wage application has forced tuna canneries to leave the islands and go where wages are more competitive. Net result was thousands of jobs lost and a net loss for that economy. Originally, Speaker Pelosi was going to leave Samoa exempt from the bill. But some people were up in arms that the poor Samoans should not have to work for low wages and got them added to the bill. Well, they got their wish. The ones that are still working are making a better wage.
roadrunner >>
If anyone has a link to that one I'd like to see it
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
Congress sacks Samoan economy
Darn, was just reading one of the threads on Kitco and of the 5 banks taken over Friday, the least overvalued any of those bank's assets were was 60%.....the worst?.....109%! Imagine if we as consumers couldn't figure out our net assets to within 100%!
roadrunner
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
For fun I used Zillow to look up some nice houses right by the Pacific Ocean in beach communities along the central coast of California. I was there last weekend with a friend and wanted to see what houses we walked by sell for.
On one street there were three listed, two without a price but entered foreclosure in the last month. Two others just down the coast listed for sale at $2.2M that had Zillow estimates of $760K. One needed court permission to sell?
The city is Pismo Beach. Is this indicative of that level of real estate coming back to earth?
<< <i>The January jobs report coming out Friday should not be good as January's BLS BDM input is usually around -350,000 just to start...a big hole to dig out from. Considering that the "blackbox" BDM adds about 900,000-1,000,000 jobs per year regardless of whether the economy is booming or busting, I don't have a lot of faith in any monthly estimates that are >0.
Did you see that piece that Peter Schiff did on Samoa. He said that the recent min wage bill was applied to Samoa for the first time against the wishes of that country because it would likely lead to more lost jobs. And in fact it turned out just that way. The min wage application has forced tuna canneries to leave the islands and go where wages are more competitive. Net result was thousands of jobs lost and a net loss for that economy. Originally, Speaker Pelosi was going to leave Samoa exempt from the bill. But some people were up in arms that the poor Samoans should not have to work for low wages and got them added to the bill. Well, they got their wish. The ones that are still working are making a better wage.
roadrunner >>
Roadrunner, by saying this do you promote slave labor for inferior pay?
Samoa is a American territory & those tuna cannery's are American company's.
I see company's every where hiring "cheap illegal alien labor" in the USA.
Then people complain that the illegal aliens are the problem.
Until SLAVE labor is gone, the playing field will NEVER be level.
By saying the above I promote paying workers the fairest and best wage possible in their competitive markets. Did you even read the article? One's net living standards is what's important, not the gross dollar amount earned per hour. We could raise the min wage nationwide to $14/hr tomorrow because it seems "fair." And the net result would be a huge loss of jobs and net revenue to the govt. That's no different than what they did to Somoa where their previous "min" wage was essentially doubled overnight. Congress applied the St. Thomas Aquinas method (ie a "fair" price) of pricing goods/labor rather than letting the markets work.
I promote what's best for Somoan industry and its workers. Clearly the best path was to leave them exempt from min wages until there was industry available that could function under a $7+/hr wage. From an economic theory standpoint minimum wages creates distortions in the economy and misallocates goods/services. This is especially visible during downturns. Seems to me that when the Samoans themselves asked to be exempted they were deciding what's best for them. The term "slave" labor wasn't the proper term to use but no doubt that type of terminology was used by the backers of the bill to get it applied to Somoa. After all $3-$4/hr "seems" like an unfair wage that goes back decades....St. Thomas Aquinas would probably agree. By that I meant the Somoan canneries worked for a comparatively low gross wages. But their living standards and general economy were better off at $3-4/hr that it is now at $7/hr.
Gsa1fan, since you apparently agreed with the actions to raise the min wage in Somoa what would you do now to restore the lost industry or do you feel that as a whole they are now better off having 45% unemployment and "fair" wages? Would you support an ammendment to the min wage bill to exempt Somoa or just let the newly unemployed fend for themselves for years to come?
roadrunner
The biggest problem in letting the markets work is that the inept, lazy, unskilled, under-educated and vulnerable have no one to guarantee their success.
I knew it would happen.
<< <i>A good paradox... it is better to have low unemployment and low wages or high wages and high unemployment? >>
How about a happy medium, but that would require communication and that is where most failures occur.
American company's pulled out of Samoa. American company's in other country's employing "slave" labor. This is my point.
How can small USA business compete when big USA company's just go over to another country and exploit worker's.
Made in China, should NOT mean American company's product manufactured & assembled there.
I would support amending what ever Samoans decided is best for them.
Will it bring the cannery back though
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US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
Added to that: lower income, property, sales tax AND eliminate taxes on goods and services and just maybe folks at the bottom of the pay scale can afford to live well! What a new concept.
Companies go overseas for wage benefits, but they also avoid all the other taxes and regulations imposed by our BIG government control. What do you think is added to the price of a car with all it's regulatory mandates? Let's even the playing field and we'll solve this unemployment mess and grow GDP.
Until then, it's the downward spiral of America's manufacturing base. One step at a time commrades, we'll turn the tide on this socialist movement. Going to try and buy alittle silver today.
LINK
That means you get rid of China, Central and South America, Eastern Europe and Russia, India, SE Asia and Africa.
There will always be "slave" labor untill wages and living standards are equal or nearly so, throughout the world.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>Until SLAVE labor is gone, the playing field will NEVER be level
That means you get rid of China, Central and South America, Eastern Europe and Russia, India, SE Asia and Africa.
There will always be "slave" labor untill wages and living standards are equal or nearly so, throughout the world. >>
Very true~Very SAD. I just feel we should NOT allow American owned/backed company's to exploit it. JMHO Peace, Tim
I read an interesting article several weeks ago that claimed U.S. wages were too high by about 20%. The article suggested inflation of the U.S. dollar would cure our wage issue.
I find it interesting that employment is up in Japan while wages are down.
Mr. Friedman's book [The World is Flat] impressed me that we do not compete for jobs on a local level anymore, we compete against workers all over the world. An awfully lot of jobs can be done anywhere and it is in companies' interest to have those jobs done at the lowest price they can.
As long as wallstreet & CEO's are making $ who cares about J6P!
<< <i>Hello,
I read an interesting article several weeks ago that claimed U.S. wages were too high by about 20%. The article suggested inflation of the U.S. dollar would cure our wage issue.
I find it interesting that employment is up in Japan while wages are down.
Mr. Friedman's book [The World is Flat] impressed me that we do not compete for jobs on a local level anymore, we compete against workers all over the world. An awfully lot of jobs can be done anywhere and it is in companies' interest to have those jobs done at the lowest price they can. >>
Wages are too high. My buddy's son works(ed) for a local grocery store chain, approx 80 stores, that just went bankrupt. He worked in a warehouse making $17/hr, + benefits--total pay was over $25/hr. Think about, $25/hr to have someone move boxes around. Ridiculous!!!! No wonder the store went under. This country needs deflation. Dont fight it Bernanke, embrace it.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>
<< <i>Hello,
I read an interesting article several weeks ago that claimed U.S. wages were too high by about 20%. The article suggested inflation of the U.S. dollar would cure our wage issue.
I find it interesting that employment is up in Japan while wages are down.
Mr. Friedman's book [The World is Flat] impressed me that we do not compete for jobs on a local level anymore, we compete against workers all over the world. An awfully lot of jobs can be done anywhere and it is in companies' interest to have those jobs done at the lowest price they can. >>
Wages are too high. My buddy's son works(ed) for a local grocery store chain, approx 80 stores, that just went bankrupt. He worked in a warehouse making $17/hr, + benefits--total pay was over $25/hr. Think about, $25/hr to have someone move boxes around. Ridiculous!!!! No wonder the store went under. This country needs deflation. Dont fight it Bernanke, embrace it. >>
Rich richer ~ poor poorer = bottom line profits for CEO's & stock holders. To hell with J6P. $17 a hour is a decent wage.
$35,000 a year pay. Cars cost 20-30K & house's 100K+. Poverty I think is 22K a year now.
<< <i>
Rich richer ~ poor poorer = bottom line profits for CEO's & stock holders. To hell with J6P. $17 a hour is a decent wage.
$35,000 a year pay. Cars cost 20-30K & house's 100K+. Poverty I think is 22K a year now. >>
Widespread skyrocketing compensation packages are strictly a manifestation of monetary inflation.
Stop printing money and "that problem" goes away.
Obama's State of the Onion speech has foretold the direction of the dollar: Down.As if we didn't know this already, but some on here think do think it will go up. Here's why it's going down. I have chopped and edited this to keep it short.
In his Jan. 27 State Of The Union address, President Obama stated that he wanted to take steps to double the country’s exports within the next 5 years, helping fix the trade deficit and also creating more jobs in the process.
When considering whether or not the U.S. even could double exports over a 5-year period, it is important for us to note that it has happened before. Back in the mid-1970s, exports grew strongly thanks to the weakening dollar. The U.S. went off the gold standard in 1971, partly because of foreign exchange pressures. Export growth stayed high until the Dollar Index started rising in 1980. That strong dollar killed export growth.
We have just recently seen another upsurge in exports growth, again thanks to a declining dollar. 2008 data is the most recent year available, and exports then were up 79% versus 2003 levels. Perhaps if the dollar keeps on weakening, we can get to a 100% 5-year growth rate, although that weaker dollar might not be a good thing in terms of other aspects of our economy.
The middle chart compares the same export growth rate data to the CPI-U inflation rate. You can see that rising inflation tends to be associated with rising exports, and vice versa. That makes some sense, since inflation in the dollar affects the value of the dollar, which we saw above has a relationship to exports growth. If running a higher inflation rate is what’s typically needed to get high export growth, then it may not be a price worth paying.
The implication is that increasing our exports would lead to more jobs, and that idea seems to make sense. If we are making more stuff and sending it overseas, then presumably more people should be employed to accomplish that. But here again, the actual data tell us a different story. The bottom chart compares this same 5-year exports growth rate to the total nonfarm payrolls number. It turns out that every instance of rapid growth in exports has been associated with a flat or even down period for job growth, including this most recent one.
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
It's pretty simple. If one cannot afford a $25K new car, a house, etc.....you don't buy them. This worked 30 years ago. If you can't afford it don't buy it. Decent used cars can be purchased for $4K-10K. And those mechanically inclined that can afford the occasional downtime can cut those prices even further. I've never bought a new car and probably never will. My last car was a 1997 Lincoln w/29,000 miles when I bought it in 2001 for $5K. My replacement 2002 Lincoln w/22K miles was bought 3 months ago for $9K. The 1997 is still doing winter duty but at 221,000 miles it's getting close to permanent retirement. Mechanically the car has never had an issue except for brakes/tires/2 rear suspension bushings. I even looked into the cash for clunkers deal back in September but found that even with a $4.5K rebate on junking my fully depreciated 1997 I'd still be into a decent-sized and optioned new car for $15K-20K. But a stripped Toyota Yaris (econobox) would have netted me in at around the $10K point....lol. Forget it if I wanted a mid to full sized car.
824,000 jobs will disappear on Feb 5th
Why? Because it's time for the annual revision to the BLS jobs number. It's no secret that the Birth Death Model has been tossing in about 950,000 new jobs per year into the mix regardless of downward trending economic conditions. Those extra jobs sure helped the feel-good syndrome during 2006-2008 period. If the BLS had any sense they'd just toss out these additions entirely and just go bareback for awhile. A revision down of approx 824,000 jobs to account for April 2008 - March 2009 will effectively wash out all the BDM inputs.....as expected. Mish notes what about the million jobs added from April 2009 to date? Well, that will set us up for another negative 824,000 jobs revision next year at this time. So for all those positive jobs report you see each month, subtract out an average of 68K each month before you decide how good they were.
roadrunner
Jim Willie (at his alarmist best) on paper gold breaking down. Not recommended for those with heart conditions.
One year after TARP and one would expect the derivatives problem at the big banks to have improved?...nope
roadrunner
Roadrunner, the G is gonna add 1 million new census workers this year, so they should be able to "manage" the unemployment numbers at current levels. Later this year and in 2011 when those people counters go bye-bye, this economy had better pick up some steam, or its gonna get ugly real quick.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
Yes it will. In fact 1 million census workers will only drop the U3 unemployment number about 0.6% and many of them (census workers) have already been hired.
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I'm not currently being counted as unemployed even though I was laid-off May 1, 2009 and have been collecting unemployment insurance ever since.
You see I'm now a full-time student working on an MBA and technically not "unemployed". There's currently 9 million Americans who are unemployed but not included in the traditional U6 number! U6 is supposed to pick up everybody right? Wrong! It's at 26 million and grossly under-reported.
As shocking as it may sound, we're at depression level unemployment with nearly 35 million people in the invisible "U". Our real U6 number is around 24%.
55% of the citizens of the United States are now drawing some type of gov't assistance. It will take half a decade to get out of this hole. I thought 9/11 left a big hole in the ground. It was nothing compared to the crater left by D.C. & Wall Street in 2008. Nothing.
Now I still paid my fair share of taxes in 2009 with about $9K going to D.C. and $3K going to Des Moines. That will be vastly different this year but hopefully in 2011, with MBA in hand, I can land a nice job in Mergers & Aquisitions at Goldman-Sachs! I hear they plan to buy a nice chunk of real estate on Pennsylvania Ave.
For the entire 1900's the US had an amazing advantage that allowed the US to make goods for the rest of the world and charge them top dollar for it. That era is over. The appeal, the lure of slavery by US corporations was eventually too hard to exist as enablers such as efficient transportation and the Internet made it more feasible than ever. Now, things will inevitably seek to equalize with the 3rd world advancing and the US falling back.
<< <i>...or its gonna get ugly real quick.
Yes it will. In fact 1 million census workers will only drop the U3 unemployment number about 0.6% and many of them (census workers) have already been hired.
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I'm not currently being counted as unemployed even though I was laid-off May 1, 2009 and have been collecting unemployment insurance ever since.
You see I'm now a full-time student working on an MBA and technically not "unemployed". There's currently 9 million Americans who are unemployed but not included in the traditional U6 number! U6 is supposed to pick up everybody right? Wrong! It's at 26 million and grossly under-reported.
As shocking as it may sound, we're at depression level unemployment with nearly 35 million people in the invisible "U". Our real U6 number is around 24%.
55% of the citizens of the United States are now drawing some type of gov't assistance. It will take half a decade to get out of this hole. I thought 9/11 left a big hole in the ground. It was nothing compared to the crater left by D.C. & Wall Street in 2008. Nothing.
Now I still paid my fair share of taxes in 2009 with about $9K going to D.C. and $3K going to Des Moines. That will be vastly different this year but hopefully in 2011, with MBA in hand, I can land a nice job in Mergers & Aquisitions at Goldman-Sachs! I hear they plan to buy a nice chunk of real estate on Pennsylvania Ave. >>
you should know this then. I work for the state in corrections. My job may get axed in July of 2011. So if I go back to school I can carry unemployment until I have my BA? I have 66 hours now getting ready to transfer them to a four year school in September. I have an aortic dissection which has resulted in an abdominal aortic aneurysm still unrepaired in me so I can't do manual labor as my lifting limit is around 40 pounds and my top number in my blood pressure cannot be allowed to spike. Does this mean that the govt' would give me a year or two to allow me to get my degree in case I get laid off next year?
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Sorry to hear about your health problems. I would make the retention of health insurance a top priority if I were you. The Stimulus Bill allowed me to maintain all medical/dental insurance for 18 months by paying 1/3 of my group rate. That is set to expire this summer so I will be switching over to student health insurance later this year.
RE: Your BA. It's tough to tell. The Stimulus Bill has me classified as a displaced worker but again, you will need to verify what's going on in 2011. I can tell you that I am allowed to collect unemploymwnt insurance for 18 months while attending school full-time. Sounds like you will need a minimum of 54 semester hours for a bachelor's degree, so you are looking at 2 years of full-time classes to get there.
One year of unemployment insurance benefits is virtually guaranteed for everyone who is involuntarily terminated with adequate benefits accrued. Beyond that may be a crap shoot. Take care of the health issues first and foremost, the other stuff usually has a way of working out. Best of Luck!
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Some would say the answer is to do something a slave cannot do.
Say what? It sounds like a plan to herd people into US debt, eh?
Rick Santelli responded, "don't be squatting in US Treasuries for very long" and the only reason that US Treasuries look good is because the flies are thicker on all the other piles around you........
lol, I'll go with Santelli's perspective for now.
I knew it would happen.
it's food you'll really want to worry about. They'll dsrive the DOW to zero and then
when they artificially prop it back up with government money things won't run.
I knew the recovery in 1987 was going to be bad news in the long run. It taught
the government that tinkering with dynamite is a safe wholesome activity that
can be enjoyed around the house or around the street.
<< <i>js has been saying that for years >>
yes, well and?
i subscribe to his email service, too and do not put him anywhere near psychotic, just manic
they wouldn't be doing this to share gardening ideas.
you beat me to the punch mahmmerman
wanted to add this link
Euro short play BIG time
<< <i>Heard today that frannie and freddie were going down? Anybody else hear this today?
Edited to add, must be a rumor 'cause fre is holding a gain for today. >>
News story
Knowledge is the enemy of fear