Post Tagged with: "California"
Miserable Wants Company
For entities not awarded illusory funding by the ECB, U.S. Treasury Department, or the State of California, reality pounces like a thief in the night, sometimes literally
The Harrison Plan for Greece
Evangelos Venizelos is dispatched to consider how to prevent the government from sacking tens of thousands of workers in order to prevent the Greek from defaulting on its debt. He suggests that California’s previous IOU issuance is a model for Greece. But he goes one step further in emphasising that the IOUs can be used to expunge a tax liability to the Greek government and by adding a redemption in 5 years at a 40% premium to the present spot price for gold, which represents a 7% annual return
Thoughts on LinkedIn
I was on Headline, BNN’s midday show on financial news, talking to presenter Paul Waldie and fellow guest Jacquie McNish this past Wednesday. The big news then was LinkedIn (LNKD). The first guest, Bill Buhr of Morningstar, spoke to the issues there and we followed shortly after
Looting by public officials in Bell California
I heard this about Bell, California on the car radio this morning. The sums involved are absolutely astronomical for a town of 37,000. This may be an extreme case but it far from isolated. Hundreds of residents of one of the poorest municipalities in Los Angeles County shouted in protest last night as tensions rose
Municipal Pathologies Come to a Head
Frederick Sheehan is the author of Panderer to Power: The Untold Story of How Alan Greenspan Enriched Wall Street and Left a Legacy of Recession (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Discussions about municipal finance generally assume three absolute conditions. First, the principal and coupon of municipal bonds are guaranteed: "Municipal bonds don’t default," according to trusted experts. Second,
First Time Homebuyer Traffic Plunged in May
Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey of Real Estate Market Conditions reports that homebuyer declined in May, as would be expected with the end of the latest federal home purchase tax credit. The most dramatic drop was with first time homebuyers, which was the category that led in home purchases the past several months. First time
Stat of the day: Illinois takes over from California as state most likely to default
While California has been the poster boy for state budgetary woes, Illinois has moved into the top spot as the US state most likely to default on its debt. To avoid default more cuts are going to be necessary. See recent posts by me and BBH’s Marc Chandler on how this impacts GDP. Also see
Stat of the Day: CDS Spreads for Cali, Michigan and Illinois are up and to the right
You saw my Stat of the Day: California now in top ten for highest government default probabilities in the world. Here’s a look at those CDS spreads for California over time – Michigan and Illinois are in the mix here too.
Stat of the Day: California now in top ten for highest government default probabilities in the world
With the liquidity crisis surrounding the rollover of Greek debt subsiding, the probability of default for that country has plummeted from nearly even odds to just over one in three. Last Week’s Numbers: 06 May 2010 Meanwhile, other state and national governments are showing continued stress. Venezuela tops the list with a CDS spread of
Local Government Fiscal Emergency: Fresno, CA
Tax revenue at state and local governments has plummeted. With house prices in California down substantially, it is even more dire for municipalities there. The result will be widespread budget cuts and, where possible, income tax hikes. Budget cuts alone won’t get you there. Below is one specific example in Fresno, California. They are taking
The Eurozone is unworkable in its present state
I am highlighting this March 2010 post because it best represents my view on the structural changes needed in the euro-zone. I suggest setting up a pre-funded European Harmonisation Fund that can get fiscal policy harmonised and help to alleviate economic distress by making fiscal transfers
Fiscal Follies
David Rosenberg takes on the sovereign debt issue in his latest commentary, highlighting the structural deficits in the U.S. and the U.K. They are actually higher than in Spain or Greece. Greece here, Portugal there. Did you know that the structural deficit-to-GDP ratio is actually higher in the U.S. (7.8%) and the U.K. (7.6%) than