Posts Tagged Budget
The richest counties in America
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget, Favourites on Апрель 29th, 2011
The residents of America’s 100 largest counties collectively earned a cool $5.86 trillion in 2009. That’s trillion with a T.
California’s Los Angeles County led the way with total personal income (TPI) of $402.46 billion, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The runners-up in total personal income were:
Cook County, Ill. (Chicago) — $244.06 billion
Harris County, Texas (Houston) — $196.78 billion
New York County, N.Y., a/k/a Manhattan — $171.95 billion
Orange County, California (Los Angeles area) — $148.37 billion
Maricopa County, Ariz. (Phoenix) — $142.01 billion
San Diego County, Calif. — $139.58 billion
Dallas County, Texas — $111.32 billion
King County, Wash. (Seattle) — $109.05 billion
Santa Clara County, Calif. — $99.55 billion Read the rest of this entry »
Europe Failed to Clear `Skepticism’ on Debt Crisis
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Trading Markets on Январь 18th, 2011
Europe has yet to allay investor “skepticism” about the sustainability of the region’s debt, and any spread of the crisis would cloud the global economic outlook, the International Monetary Fund’s No. 3 official said.
“At least for now it looks like the spillover from the European sovereign crisis to areas outside of the region will be limited,” Naoyuki Shinohara, deputy managing director at the IMF, said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. “However, if the European sovereign-debt problems were to become bigger, we need to keep in mind that that could bring about considerable downside risks.”
European officials have indicated they’re ready to expand their efforts to contain the crisis that erupted last year and has led to bailout packages for Greece and Ireland. German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week expressed willingness to take whatever steps are needed to stem the turmoil.
The extra yields investors demand to hold Greek and Irish bonds rather than German bunds “still remain very high, despite the rescue packages,” Shinohara said.
“That means skepticism over the sustainability of their debt in the market hasn’t been cleared away,” said Shinohara, 57, a former top currency official at Japan’s Ministry of Finance. “It’s important that countries reduce their budget deficit, but they also need to tackle structural issues including boosting growth and lowering unemployment.” Read the rest of this entry »
Ghana 2011 budget uses tax hikes to fund spending
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Trading Markets on Ноябрь 30th, 2010
Ghana predicted economic growth would double to 12.3 percent in 2011 as its first oil arrived and announced a series of tax hikes aimed at financing heavy new infrastructure spending.
Unveiling next year’s budget to parliament, Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor pledged to narrow the fiscal deficit from 9.7 percent this year to 7.5 percent in 2011, and foresaw inflation falling steadily through to 2012, when Ghana goes to the polls.
Urging Ghana to avoid the fate of other nations that saw oil finds undermine other sectors in their economies, Duffuor warned that hydrocarbon revenues would not be enough in themselves to transform a country still marked by widespread poverty.
«We must continue to focus our attention on the non-oil sector of the economy, particularly agriculture, small, medium and micro enterprises, mining and manufacturing sectors, which, hitherto, have been the backbone of the economy,» he said of cocoa’s traditional cocoa, gold and other industries.
Duffuor forecast 2011 growth at 12.3 percent compared to 5.9 percent this year. Annual inflation, which has fallen sharply over the year to stand at 9.38 percent in October, would fall to 8.5 percent by December 2011 and 7.0 percent in 2012, he said.
«The new budget is sensible and realistic,» said Lisa Lewin at London-based Business Monitor International. Read the rest of this entry »
Who Is Next In The Eurozone?
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Trading Markets on Ноябрь 19th, 2010
The Eurozone seems to be the place where the party never ends these days as one skeleton after the other comes rattling out of the closet. Indeed, one has the impression that history is in the making these days and the only thing we can hope is that it will be for the better.
In truth however, I felt a good measure of sympathy for Ireland today as I read the Bloomberg report about how the country is now essentially on its way to accepting a deal that will have aid delivered from the EU, the IMF and, most painfully, from England.
Irish rebels fought for independence during World War I, boasting they served «neither King nor Kaiser.» Ireland may now have to do exactly that to qualify for a bailout partly funded by both Britain and Germany. Prime Minister Brian Cowen is edging toward accepting a rescue package that may threaten the country’s low-tax policies and put voters on the hook to repay loans the central bank says may be worth «tens of billions» of euros.
For critics of Cowen’s Fianna Fail party, which governed Ireland through its decade-long boom, national pride is at stake. Cowen has «squandered» independence for a «German bailout with a few shillings of sympathy from the British chancellor,» the Irish Times newspaper said yesterday. The government should be «ashamed that Fianna Fail should be the ones to surrender sovereignty,» said Michael Noonan, finance spokesman for Fine Gael, the largest opposition party. Read the rest of this entry »
What The Fed Does not Want You To Know
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Budget on Ноябрь 17th, 2010
Yesterday gold and silver staged a sharp reversal day after first making new highs for the year intra-day. There were a couple of reasons for the sharp pullback. The first was the stronger U.S. Dollar Index and the second was the sudden increase in margin requirements for silver. While we are not sure why the margin requirements increased for silver so suddenly we do know why the U.S. Dollar Index traded higher.
The U.S. Dollar Index caught a bid yesterday due to the fact that Ireland and Portugal bunds spreads are the widest they have ever been. In other words these two countries are in serious trouble. Other European Union countries remain in trouble and could soon face defaults as well.
In March, April, May, and June of this year gold and the U.S. Dollar Index actually rallied higher together. So please understand that gold does not just trade inverse to the U.S. Dollar Index. Gold and silver are now being viewed by the investor community as the only true form of currency.
While many say gold is in a bubble this simply does not hold any merit. A bubble occurs when everyone owns something such as a tech stock in 1999 or a house in 2005. Ask your next door neighbor if they own any gold outside of their jewelry and the answer is likely to be ‘no’. If gold was not so important the government would not want to tax it as a collectible at the highest rate allowed. Read the rest of this entry »
Ireland Will Need Bailout — Portugal Next
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Favourites, Trading Markets on Ноябрь 16th, 2010
From Morgan Stanley on the Irish debt crisis:
Financial markets in the periphery (bonds, CDS and in some cases banks) have become rather volatile in recent days. This escalation follows several weeks of spread widening in the three smaller peripheral markets (notably Ireland and, to a lesser degree, Portugal and Greece). While each country has its own interesting idiosyncratic story, the danger of contagion has clearly increased. In this note, we discuss political deliberations on tapping the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF).
We outline how the process would work if it were to be activated and highlight the likely market reaction that could be expected on the announcement, based on what was observed in Greece. On balance, we believe that the sharp rise in market tensions over the last few weeks has increased the chances of the EFSF being tapped.
This is in particular true for Ireland, in our view, where it seems increasingly difficult for the government to effectively backstop the problems in the banking system. We would stress, however, that no country will apply to the EFSF lightly or ‘just’ to reduce debt-servicing costs: tapping the EFSF is a monumental decision that will shape economic, fiscal and financial policies in that country for many years to come. It is a step that a government would only take in case of no other viable alternative, in our view. Read the rest of this entry »
Four Tips for Single, Female Homebuyers
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Investing on Май 11th, 2010
Buying a home today takes a certain confidence — in the market and in your own financial strength. A lot of single, female homebuyers are taking that bold step in high heels, with no one at their side.
Nationally, single women accounted for 21 percent of all home purchases in the year ended this past June, while single men accounted for just 10 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Experts say female homebuyers share characteristics and concerns that set them apart from male buyers. Following are four tips single, female buyers should keep in mind when purchasing a home.
Buy with confidence
A variety of factors — such as a greater likelihood of working at jobs that offer paltry retirement and other benefits — keep single women from achieving their financial goals, says Mariko Chang, a consultant who recently completed a report on the wealth gap for women for the Insight Center for Community Economic Development in Oakland, Calif. Read the rest of this entry »
S&P Downgrades Spain
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Favourites, Trading Markets on Апрель 30th, 2010
Standard & Poor’s Corp. on Wednesday downgraded Spain’s long-term credit-rating by one notch, in a new sign of a deepening euro-zone sovereign debt crisis.
Spain become the third euro-zone nation to be hit with a S&P downgrade in just two days, following steeper cuts on Portugal and Greece. On Tuesday, S&P slashed its ratings on those nations, even junking Greece, amid concerns that nation’s policy options are narrowing because of weak economic growth prospects.
The ratings actions underscore mounting concerns that Greece could default on its debt and that European Union authorities are failing to halt contagion of its financial problems to other highly indebted euro-zone sovereigns. Spain, the euro zone’s fourth largest economy, is grappling with a double-digit budget deficit and faces years of weak growth following the collapse of a decade-long construction boom.
«Spain is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Greece and Portugal are small countries, but Spain is about five times their size with regards gross domestic product,» Win Thin, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co, said in a note to investors.
The news of the Spanish downgrade sent equities in Spain broadly lower. S&P said it reflects a downward revision of its medium-term macroeconomic projections. Read the rest of this entry »
Europe’s Next Great Test
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Business on Март 29th, 2010
European leaders may have bought some time by backing in principle a bailout for Greece, but even if the money is handed over, it will be no silver bullet for Greece or for the euro zone.
That’s because the euro zone’s problems are not limited to Greece and not solely related to government debt and budget deficits.
Right now, Greece’s debt burden is unsustainable. With government debt equivalent to more than the country’s annual output and the government paying close to 6.5% to borrow money, Greece’s debt burden is not just growing but accelerating dangerously.
The best a bailout can do is to buy time to reduce those interest rates to give the government time to slash its deficits and set the debt on a downward path.
Yet it is the euro zone’s second challenge that is at once more widespread and more intractable. That is the euro zone’s competitiveness challenge: structurally weak economies, in southern Europe and elsewhere, locked by a common currency to Germany’s low inflation rate and economic stringency. Read the rest of this entry »
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