I don't have a clue as to when things will break.
Probably not this week.
Greece is awake again.
They are not happy.
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Japan could run out of money in a month
31 Aug 2012
| Comment The printing press has reached its limits
30 Aug 2012
| 101 Comments China’s fears grow over eurozone crisis
30 Aug 2012
| 76 Comments 
US election winner will fix the economic affront to America's self-image, not The Fed
Ben Bernanke's Jackson Hole speech will only tell Americans what they already know about the ailing economy, it will be down to whoever wins the election to sort it out.30 Aug 2012
| 23 Comments Bankia 'loses €4.3bn in six months'
Spanish bailed-out bank recorded a net loss of €4.3bn in the first half of the year, topping the loss it suffered in all of 2011, according to reports.30 Aug 2012
| Comment Euro collapse 'would slash 10pc off German economy'
A complete collapse of the euro would shave up to 10pc off the German economy and even just the departure of Greece from the currency club bears substantial risks to business, according to German government economic adviser Lars Feld.30 Aug 2012
| 9 Comments Greece 'would have avoided bailout if it were not for tax havens'
Former Greece prime minister George Papandreou has said his country might have avoided a bailout if the economy had not been robbed by funds being funnelled to tax havens.30 Aug 2012
| 16 Comments Webchat: Put your questions on the financial crisis to Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
After five years of financial crisis, are we through the worst? Put your questions to Ambrose Evans-Pritchard during a live webchat from 12.30pm on Wednesday 5 September.30 Aug 2012
| 128 Comments Greece's €11.5bn cuts 'will be the last', promises PM
Greece's prime minister Antonis Samaras has promised his austerity-weary countrymen that new spending cuts planned for 2013-14 will be the last, but warned that without them the nation would have to leave the 17-member eurozone.30 Aug 2012
| 8 Comments Hollande makes maiden visit to Spain
French leader Francois Hollande flies to Spain on Thursday, brandishing his support for the crisis-hit nation as it seeks a saviour from potentially crippling market interest rates.30 Aug 2012
| 1 Comment Endangered Currency
First Greece -- then Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal: The European common currency has come under pressure from large national debts and the effects of the global financial crisis, ultimately requiring a rescue package close to a trillion euros.
The 6am Cut London
Asian stocks fell as investors awaited Ben Bernanke’s speech later on Friday, and reports showed an unexpected decline in Japan’s industrial output and manufacturing activity contracted to the lowest level in 16 months. South Korea’s second consecutive month of decline in industrial output also dampened exporters there (Bloomberg, Financial Times).The ECB would have sweeping powers over all eurozone banks under draft plans drawn up by the European Commission, although Germany and the ECB itself have urged more decentralised steps towards a eurozone banking union. The EC plan, which is still being drafted and will be unveiled on September 12, would strip national supervisors of almost any authority to shut down or restructure their countries’ failing banks, handing this power to a new ECB board separate to its governing council (Financial Times).
China has indicated it will keep buying eurozone bonds, but held off indicating it would provide meaningful aid, with premier Wen Jiabao saying purchases would require “fully evaluating risk”. (Wall Street Journal).
Angela Merkel faces a clash with the EU over the solar trade dispute. During a visit to Beijing, Merkel said the dispute between Germany and China should be resolved via negotiations, in contrast to EU trade commissioner Karel du Gucht who is expected to open a formal investigation next week into whether Chinese manufacturers are dumping their products (Financial Times).
JP Morgan “is reviewing its dealings with dozens of brokerages that use the bank to settle trades, according to people familiar with the bank.” The bank started the review, which aims to assess client risks versus profits they generate, six months ago (Wall Street Journal).
Outgoing HMV chief Simon Fox is set become Trinity Mirror’s new CEO. Sly Bailey stepped down from Trinity Mirror in May amid shareholder anger over her £1.7m pay package and the company’s performance. Fox will be paid a basic annual salary of £500,000 plus a £75,000 cash allowance in lieu of a pension, with a potential bonus of £375,000 split equally between cash and shares (Financial Times).
Fast-growing technology companies would be allowed to float as little as 10 per cent of their business on the LSE under proposals being weighed up by Downing Street. Senior government officials are backing the proposals, as the government is keen to avoid losing tech IPOs to the US (Financial Times).
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/opinion/Krugman.html?_r=1&hp
The Medicare Killers
"Paul Ryan’s speech Wednesday night may have accomplished one good thing: It finally may have dispelled the myth that he is a Serious, Honest Conservative. Indeed, Mr. Ryan’s brazen dishonesty left even his critics breathless. Some of his fibs were trivial but telling, like his suggestion that President Obama is responsible for a closed auto plant in his hometown, even though the plant closed before Mr. Obama took office. Others were infuriating, like his sanctimonious declaration that “the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves.” This from a man proposing savage cuts in Medicaid, which would cause tens of millions of vulnerable Americans to lose health coverage.
And Mr. Ryan — who has proposed $4.3 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade, versus only about $1.7 trillion in specific spending cuts — is still posing as a deficit hawk.
But Mr. Ryan’s big lie — and, yes, it deserves that designation — was his claim that “a Romney-Ryan administration will protect and strengthen Medicare.” Actually, it would kill the program.
Before I get there, let me just mention that Mr. Ryan has now gone all-in on the party line that the president’s plan to trim Medicare expenses by around $700 billion over the next decade — savings achieved by paying less to insurance companies and hospitals, not by reducing benefits — is a terrible, terrible thing. Yet, just a few days ago, Mr. Ryan was still touting his own budget plan, which included those very same savings.
But back to the big lie. The Republican Party is now firmly committed to replacing Medicare with what we might call Vouchercare. The government would no longer pay your major medical bills; instead, it would give you a voucher that could be applied to the purchase of private insurance. And, if the voucher proved insufficient to buy decent coverage, hey, that would be your problem.
Moreover, the vouchers almost certainly would be inadequate; their value would be set by a formula taking no account of likely increases in health care costs.
Why would anyone think that this was a good idea? The G.O.P. platform says that it “will empower millions of seniors to control their personal health care decisions.” Indeed. Because those of us too young for Medicare just feel so personally empowered, you know, when dealing with insurance companies.
Still, wouldn’t private insurers reduce costs through the magic of the marketplace? No. All, and I mean all, the evidence says that public systems like Medicare and Medicaid, which have less bureaucracy than private insurers (if you can’t believe this, you’ve never had to deal with an insurance company) and greater bargaining power, are better than the private sector at controlling costs.
I know this flies in the face of free-market dogma, but it’s just a fact. You can see this fact in the history of Medicare Advantage, which is run through private insurers and has consistently had higher costs than traditional Medicare. You can see it from comparisons between Medicaid and private insurance: Medicaid costs much less. And you can see it in international comparisons: The United States has the most privatized health system in the advanced world and, by far, the highest health costs.
So Vouchercare would mean higher costs and lower benefits for seniors. Over time, the Republican plan wouldn’t just end Medicare as we know it, it would kill the thing Medicare is supposed to provide: universal access to essential care. Seniors who couldn’t afford to top up their vouchers with a lot of additional money would just be out of luck.
Still, the G.O.P. promises to maintain Medicare as we know it for those currently over 55. Should everyone born before 1957 feel safe? Again, no.
For one thing, repeal of Obamacare would cause older Americans to lose a number of significant benefits that the law provides, including the way it closes the “doughnut hole” in drug coverage and the way it protects early retirees.
Beyond that, the promise of unchanged benefits for Americans of a certain age just isn’t credible. Think about the political dynamics that would arise once someone born in 1956 still received full Medicare while someone born in 1959 couldn’t afford decent coverage. Do you really think that would be a stable situation? For sure, it would unleash political warfare between the cohorts — and the odds are high that older cohorts would soon find their alleged guarantees snatched away.
The question now is whether voters will understand what’s really going on (which depends to a large extent on whether the news media do their jobs). Mr. Ryan and his party are betting that they can bluster their way through this, pretending that they are the real defenders of Medicare even as they work to kill it. Will they get away with it?"
Sooner is better. As soon as you can is best.
I will continue here as long as you allow. So far I can deal with it.
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