Archive for category Budget
Clothing Prices Rising 10% in Spring
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget on Февраль 18th, 2011
The era of falling clothing prices is ending. Clothing prices have dropped for a decade as tame inflation and cheap overseas labor helped hold down costs. Retailers and clothing makers cut frills and experimented with fabric blends to cut prices during the recession.
But as the world economy recovers and demand for goods rises, a surge in labor and raw materials costs is squeezing retailers and manufacturers who have run out of ways to pare costs.
Cotton has more than doubled in price over the past year, hitting all-time highs. The price of other synthetic fabrics has jumped roughly 50 percent as demand for alternatives and blends has risen.
Clothing prices are expected to rise about 10 percent in coming months, with the biggest increases coming in the second half of the year, said Burt Flickinger III president of Strategic Resource Group.
Brooks Brothers’ wrinkle-free men’s dress shirts now cost $88, up from $79.50. Levi Strauss & Co., Wrangler jeans maker VF Corp., J.C. Penney Co., Nike and designer shoe seller Steve Madden also plan increases. Read the rest of this entry »
U.S. housing bottom seen in mid-2011: poll
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget on Январь 31st, 2011
U.S. house prices are likely to continue to slide before bottoming out sometime in the middle of this year but will rise just over two percent in 2011 as a whole, according to economists polled by Reuters.
Asked when they see a bottom for U.S. house prices, 14 of 26 economists said they would trough in either the second or third quarter of 2011. Three saw the bottom coming as early as this quarter, while one did not see a bottom until the first three months of 2014.
«A pullback in prices following the expiration of the homebuyers tax credit was not a surprise. Ultimately, a recovery in the housing sector will depend critically on the job market, which should improve over time,» said Scott Brown at Raymond James.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas, which has struggled since home-buyer tax credits expired earlier this year, declined 0.5 percent in November from October on a seasonally adjusted basis, the fifth straight monthly decline in home prices.
Asked how much further prices would fall before stabilizing, the median response of 24 economists who answered was another 3.3 percent drop from current levels. Two economists saw a further decline as sharp as 10 percent. Read the rest of this entry »
2011 Is The Year For Free Tax Return Filing
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget on Январь 27th, 2011
If there are ways to file tax returns for free that include free tax preparation help, then that would be an ideal option.
FreeFile Alliance was created some time back by the IRS and some tax-software companies for free tax return filing for seniors and low income earners. This year, major tax software makers offer more free options plus in-person IRS’s VITA and TCE volunteers and AARP’s TaxAide help.
Tax software is becoming more user friendly with most encountered questions of people who often need help to guide you as seen on TaxMama.com’s site.
Emailed questions left unanswered in 24-48 hours can exasperate you that when finally answered, the question may have been forgotten. The answer could even prompt a follow up question that will entail more long hours of wait. This scenario would already require person to person help.
Congress has granted $11 million to fund 177 organizations all over the U.S. with thousands of centers to help, walk-in or by appointment. These are manned by trained volunteers and tax professionals to provide answers and give guidance. For complex tax returns inquiry, you will be referred to someone who can help.
Another program that assists for free is the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). Their centers are found almost everywhere. The numbers to call to find a near site is 1-800-906-9887. Earners whose income is below $49,000 qualify. Check IRS.gov to see partial VITA sites list. Read the rest of this entry »
Trichet Says Inflation Risks May Rise in Medium Term
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget, Favourites on Январь 17th, 2011
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet comments on monetary policy, inflation and growth in the economy of the 17 nations sharing the euro. He spoke at a press conference in Frankfurt today after the ECB kept its key interest rate at a record low of 1 percent.
On today’s rate decision: “Based on its regular economic and monetary analyses, the Governing Council confirmed that the current key ECB interest rates are still remain appropriate. It therefore decided to leave them unchanged.
“Taking into account all the new information and analyses which have become available since our meeting of 2 December 2010, we see evidence of short-term upward pressure on overall inflation, mainly owing to energy prices, but this has not so far affected our assessment that price developments will remain in line with price stability over the policy-relevant medium- term horizon. At the same time, very close monitoring is warranted.
“Overall, the current monetary-policy stance remains accommodative. The stance, the provision of liquidity and the allotment modes will be adjusted as appropriate, taking into account the fact that all the non-standard measures taken during the period of acute financial-market tensions are, by construction, temporary in nature. Accordingly, the Governing Council will continue to monitor all developments over the period ahead very closely. Read the rest of this entry »
Spanish Christmas lottery hands out $3 billion
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget on Декабрь 24th, 2010
Spain’s beloved Christmas lottery sprinkled 2.3 billion euros ($3 billion) in holiday cheer across the country Wednesday, handing out winnings eagerly welcomed by a nation facing 20 percent unemployment.
One of the most awaited days of the year in Spain served up merry moments for people struggling to make mortgage payments and pay bills, or those seeking jobs. One lottery vendor said he had hired a medium to lure good luck.
The government-run lottery billed as the world’s richest has no single jackpot but operates a complex share-the-wealth system in which thousands of five-digit numbers running from 00000 to 84999 win at least something. It is known as «El Gordo» (The Fat One) and dates back to 1812.
Tax-free winnings range from the face value of a 20-euro ($26.31) ticket — in other words, you get your money back — to a top prize of 300,000 euros ($394,650).
The sweepstakes, which goes on for three hours, informally ushers in the Christmas season. Many Spaniards spend the day glued to TV sets, radios and computers, waiting to see if they are among the lucky. People often team up to buy shares of tickets sold by bars, sports clubs and business offices. Read the rest of this entry »
Bernanke Plays Politics, Loses
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget on Декабрь 14th, 2010
The BABs story has gone political. And now the Fed is tossing information into the hopper that just does not pass the smell test. The question is; «Why is the Fed doing this?»
The real story on BABs is that Republicans want to nix the program as it provides a very clear benefit to the three biggest blue states, CA, NY and Il. The opposition does not want to really show their hand as being purely political so they are attacking the extension on the merits. The strongest reason to appose the extension is that it is a federal subsidy that costs the taxpayers money and adds to the deficit. But the problem all along is that no one in D.C. really has a clue how much this is actually costing.
BABs was first sold as being revenue neutral at the federal level. The talk was that the 35% interest subsidy paid by D.C. would be offset by tax dollars created when the bondholders pay federal income on their interest income. It never worked like that at all. The BABs bonds went to tax exempt holders. 401k/501c accounts, foreign banks and other tax-exempts bought the BABs bonds. In my opinion the Treasury is lucky if it gets back 15% of the 35% they are paying out as a result of the tax arbitrage that has been created.
I have consistently heard that some big takers of the BABs were foreign banks. That makes perfect sense. Prior to BABs they had no ability to build up state assets as they had no tax base to offset. But with BABs that issue went away and an attractive asset class with a desirable fixed coupon and long duration was created. The NYT had this to say about foreign bank participation in BABs: Read the rest of this entry »
November 2010 Federal Deficit $150.4 Billion — Highest November on Record
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget on Декабрь 13th, 2010
….on an unrelated note, corporations are flush with cash and paid the lowest % of taxes to GDP in history in last year we have records (2008), Americans are being sent cash by the bushel, entitlement spending is through the roof, aid to states is historic, and the stock market propels higher. These items are completely unrelated as long as there is no cost in cost-benefit analysis. 
Just like I suddenly have $50,000 if I borrow $50,000 on my credit card. (no cost of course…only the benefit)
Kind of laughable in retrospect when I hand wringed about half a trillion deficits «back in the day» (Jul 28, 2008: US Budget Deficit to Half a Trillion) — that’s 3-4 months of federal government work nowadays.
Via WSJ
The U.S. government ran its 26th straight monthly budget deficit in November amid wrangling over a package that would extend big tax cuts to Americans trying to recover from recession.
The Treasury Department, in its regular budget monthly statement, said the government spent $150.4 billion than it collected in the second month of fiscal 2011.
Last month’s red ink pushes up the deficit to $290.8 billion for the fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. That figure is a little smaller than the deficit during the same period last year. But President Barack Obama’s administration expects the deficit to top $1 trillion in this fiscal year. (uhhh… that’s an understatement considering this latest $900B package soon to pass). Read the rest of this entry »
A Lesson In Government Math
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget on Декабрь 6th, 2010
According to Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) November US unemployment report, private employers added 39,000 jobs last month. The report missed most analysts’ projections for low six-figure hiring gains—and showed the unemployment rate rose from 9.6% to 9.8%. Predictably, the moment the report was released, many resumed banging the same old employment-doom drum they’ve been beating for a couple years (like here, here, and here.) But November’s unemployment rate increase tells us something different than increases in 2008 or early 2009. And it isn’t bad news.
In the wonky realm of government statistics, the unemployment rate can actually increase while hiring picks up and layoffs fall—which is exactly what happened in November. The reverse is also possible. Why? The unemployment rate isn’t calculated by taking the number of people out of work and dividing by the population—the unemployed person must be seeking a job. When long-term unemployed people become discouraged and stop looking for work, they fall out of the unemployment rate calculation.
And when they become more encouraged and resume their search, they’re added back to the ranks of the unemployed. This is the primary takeaway from November’s unemployment report: Previously discouraged unemployed people, seeing layoffs at 2-year lows and watching friends obtain jobs, became more encouraged and sought work. The implied increase in economic confidence is positive but bumped up the headline unemployment rate.
Sure, we’d hoped for more robust hiring data. A larger gain in jobs could’ve incrementally boosted investor sentiment. But even the hiring data is somewhat murky. Each year, the BLS seasonally adjusts hiring statistics, particularly during the holiday shopping season.
This large adjustment factor may well have understated the actual amount of hiring (specifically, in the retail sector). Read the rest of this entry »
Hard for Fed policy to lower unemployment
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget on Ноябрь 29th, 2010
The Federal Reserve might risk higher inflation if it focuses on efforts to bring down unemployment, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said. In a speech that hinted at his scepticism of the Fed’s latest efforts to stimulate the economy, Lacker, a vocal inflation hawk, said monetary policy can lower joblessness only temporarily.
«Trying to keep unemployment permanently lower than it otherwise would be … is a recipe for continually accelerated inflation,» he said, pointing to the inflation experience of the 1960s and 1970s as a cautionary tale.
With the jobless rate currently stuck at 9.6 percent and inflation running below the Fed’s implicit target of 2 percent or a bit below, the Federal Reserve this month announced it would buy an additional $600 billion in Treasury securities.
The measure, which comes as official interest rates are already effectively zero, is aimed at lowering borrowing costs and spurring lending, and hopefully to boost hiring in the process. However Lacker, who is not a voter this year on the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, appeared suspicious of the policy. Read the rest of this entry »
-
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Budget category.
Big Banks Easing Terms on Loans Deemed as Risks
6 Июль 2011
Euro Area Backs Greek Aid, Looks to New Bailout
4 Июль 2011
Americans may hit gas again after reserve release
29 Июнь 2011
Obama takes flak for tapping emergency oil reserves
28 Июнь 2011
Свежие комментарии