sâmbătă, 15 iunie 2013

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Dumb and Dumber Tax Hikes in Italy; Grand Coalition Splintering; Another Italy Convulsion Coming Up

Posted: 15 Jun 2013 10:24 AM PDT

One of the dumbest things a country can do in a recession is raise taxes. Yet, after pronouncing the end of austerity, Italy's "grand coalition" government, led by Enrico Letta, is going to hike the VAT.

Why? It seems they need to hike the VAT to pay for a decrease in property taxes.

Recall that Silvio Berlusconi was only willing to take part in Letta's grand coalition on condition property tax hikes were rolled back. Letta agreed to do that, but now Letta says Italy needs revenue hikes to make up for it.

Grand Coalition Splintering

Curiously, the International Business Times reports Enrico Letta's Grand Coalition Could End Italy's 'Lingering Civil War' .

What nonsense. Letta's "grand coalition" is burnt toast already.

Eurointelligence gets it right.
Il Corriere della Sera and other Italian papers are leading with the news that finance minister Fabrizio Saccomanni and another cabinet ministers said yesterday that Italy cannot simultaneously afford to cut the IMU housing tax and not implement an envisaged rise in VAT, and would thus opt to raise VAT.

In its coverage, La Repubblica writes that Saccomanni is now becoming a controversial within the coalition, as Silvio Berlusconi appears to appear chosen him as a target for his verbal attacks. The VAT increase is threatening to drive a gulf between the two largest parties, the PD and Berlusconi's PdL.
Another Italy Convulsion Coming Up

I agree with the following comments from Eurointelligence: "A rise in VAT is probably the worst thing that can happen right now ... Italy will miss the 2.9% deficit target, since the economy is likely to go into another convulsion once VAT is raised."

Beppe Grillo 5-Star Movement Implodes

As a side note the 5-Star movement of Beppe Grillo is imploding as well.
Two more MPs have left the Movimento 5 Stelle parliamentary group, the Huffington Post Italia reports, bring the total number to five. Lawmakers Alessandro Furnari and Giuliana Labriola have quit M5S after internal fights, accusing Grillo of being a dictator and the party for failing to make substantive proposals. In an interview, Furnari said the M5S was dying due the Grillo' mix of inexperience, rawness and vulgar display of ideas without content.

Grillo, meanwhile, has gone again on a verbal rampage. As reported by Il Corriere della Sera, he called the current Italian Parliament an "empty can of tuna." He said it was illegitimate because it was elected under an electoral law that he called is unconstitutional.
Support for Grillo is now down to 14% from over 25% in the election (See Youth Vote Propels Five Star Movement Into First Place as Largest Political Party in Italy).

Reader "AC", from Italy, predicted the rise of Beppe Grillo well in advance of any mainstream media coverage, also told me "Grillo has peaked" shortly after the national election. She called that one correctly as well.

Infighting is everywhere in Italy now.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.
Publicat de 1 la 23:26 0 comentarii

Damn Cool Pics

Damn Cool Pics

The Top 10 Superfoods for Exceptional Health [Infographic]

Posted: 15 Jun 2013 12:56 PM PDT

Superfoods are a great way to boost our health and vitality naturally. Not only are they good for us, most of them taste delicious too! While there are many great superfoods, we've listed our top ten below in an awesome infographic that details where they're sourced, which health-giving ingredients they are especially rich in and of course the potential benefits you may experience by adding them to your diet. Enjoy!

Click on Image to Enlarge.
Via: HealthPost.co.nz

Publicat de 1 la 19:12 0 comentarii

Celebrating Father's Day Weekend

Here's What's Happening Here at the White House
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Featured 

Celebrating Father's Day Weekend

President Obama discusses Father’s Day and notes that nothing substitutes for the love and support of the presence of a parent in a child’s life.

Watch this week's Weekly Address.

Watch this week's Weekly Address
 
 
  Top Stories

Obamacare in California: President Obama spent last Friday in California discussing how the Affordable Care Act is improving in the lives of people all across the country.

“States like California are setting up new, online marketplaces where, beginning on October 1st of this year, you can comparison shop an array of private health insurance plans side-by-side, just like you were going online to compare cars or airline tickets.  And that means insurance companies will actually have to compete with each other for your business.  And that means new choices.”

Equal Pay Act: Monday marked 50 years since President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law. The President spoke at an event to celebrate the anniversary, emphasizing the importance of the issue and acknowledging there’s still work to be done.

“The day that the bill was signed into law, women earned 59 cents for every dollar a man earned on average.  Today, it’s about 77 cents.  So it was 59 and now it’s 77 cents.  It’s even less, by the way, if you’re an African American or a Latina.  So I guess that’s progress, but does anybody here think that’s good enough?”

Jason Furman Nomination: President Obama announced his nomination to replace Alan Krueger as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Monday afternoon. Jason Furman, who currently serves in the Obama Administration as an Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and the Principal Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, is waiting for Congress to confirm his new role.

President Obama praised both Krueger and Furman, citing their hard work as a reason for America’s economic upturn.

Working with Peru: President Ollanta Humala of Peru visited the White House on Tuesday for a bilateral meeting with President Obama. The two leaders discussed ways our countries can continue to cooperate, including deepening education exchange programs, connecting small and medium-sized businesses to markets throughout the hemisphere, and combatting transnational drug networks.

Immigration Reform: Prior to the Senate opening debate on Tuesday, President Obama spoke with leaders from across the country to reaffirm his belief that bipartisan, commonsense immigration reform needs to be passed now.

The President shared stories from DREAMers and spoke of the positive impact that reform would have on America.

“It will build on what we’ve done and continue to strengthen our borders. It will make sure that businesses and workers are all playing by the same set of rules, and it includes tough penalties for those who don’t. It’s fair for middle-class families, by making sure that those who are brought into the system pay their fair share in taxes and for services. And it’s fair for those who try to immigrate legally by stopping those who try to skip the line. It’s the right thing to do.”

Pride Month: Leaders from the LGBT community gathered at the White House on Thursday to kick-off Pride month. President Obama spoke of the steps he and his Administration have taken to push LGBT rights forward, but admitted there is still work to be done.

“In 34 states, you can be fired just because of who you are or who you love. That’s wrong. We’ve got to change it. There’s a bipartisan bill moving forward in the Senate that would ban discrimination against all LGBT Americans in the workplace, now and forever. We need to get that passed. I want to sign that bill. We need to get it done now."
 

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Publicat de 1 la 09:54 0 comentarii

Seth's Blog : Angry is a habit

 

Angry is a habit

It's easy to imagine habits like a scotch after dinner, biting your nails or saying, "you know" after every sentence. An event or a time of day triggers us, and we go with the habit. It's easier than exploring new territory--it's merely a thoughtless response to an incoming trigger.

But emotions can become habits as well.

Distrustful is a habit.

Lonely is a habit.

Generous is a habit.

When that stranger doesn't do what you expect, is your response to assume that she's out to get you, trying to make an extra buck, looking for a shortcut? Or do you default to the habit of giving that new person a chance to explain herself?

Habits are great when they help us get what we want. Bad habits, on the other hand, are bad because the shortcut that satisfies us in the moment gets in the way of our long term goals.

Once you can see that your emotions are as much as a habit as cracking your knuckles, they're a lot easier to work with.

 
     

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