Central Perk: 22 mar. 2014

sâmbătă, 22 martie 2014

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Criminal Actions by Obama; Two Wrongs Make a Right

Posted: 22 Mar 2014 05:40 PM PDT

To President Obama, two wrongs make a right. Also, might makes right.

Suppose a neighbor steals your cat. Would it even be morally just to punch another neighbor (or the neighbor's kid) in the face to retaliate?

If you are president Obama, the answer is yes.

Please consider How Obama Crippled a Russian Bank with a Stroke of a Pen.

On Thursday, President Obama sent a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin about strength. Specifically, economic strength. The message was this: Whenever I decide to, I can pick up a pen, and kill a significant financial institution in your country.

Obama's victim was the St. Petersburg-based Bank Rossiya.

Bank Rossiya is not the largest bank in Russia by a long shot, but its significance lies in its clientele rather than its size. In announcing the sanctions, the Treasury Department noted that Bank Rossiya "is the personal bank for senior officials of the Russian Federation" including members of the Ozero Dacha Cooperative, an exclusive community where members of Putin's inner circle live. In addition, it provides financial services to the single largest segment of the Russian economy – the oil, gas, and energy sector.

Essentially, this is a credit union for oligarchs, with a side business in financing the Russian energy industry. Its customers include many more high-profile Russians than just those named in the Treasury statement. As of Thursday it is, for all intents and purposes, out of business.

"They've got to go to another bank," said Lester M. Joseph, former principal deputy chief of the Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering section. "That bank is pretty much a pariah."

Currently the international investigations manager at Wells Fargo Bank, Joseph said when heard about the sanctions on Bank Rossiya, the first thing he did was check to see if it was a customer of his institution. "It is not, thankfully," he said.

The impact doesn't stop there, Joseph explained. His next step, which is ongoing, is to see if any banks that Wells Fargo has relationships with are also doing business with Bank Rossiya, and to make sure that none of those banks are routing transactions from the Russian bank through Wells Fargo's system. "If a transaction from that bank is coming from another bank, we would have to block it," he said.

As one U.S. official told Reuters, Bank Rossiya will be "frozen out of the dollar."

"This is a new thing," said Joseph. "It's not a rogue bank. It's a bank in a country where we do a lot of business. It's not involved in a criminal case." Compared to other actions by past administrations, he said, "It's much more complex."

Criminal Actions by Obama

Bank Rossiya is frozen out of the US dollar even though it is not a rogue bank, is not involved in any criminal investigation, and in fact has not done anything wrong.

I cannot predict the result of this, and also suspect the impact as assessed above is a bit trumped up. After all, how many US dollar transactions does Bank Rossiya conduct?

Regardless, the actions of Obama are disturbing. You do not (rather you should not), punch an innocent party in the face as a means to force a third party to do what you want.

The action by Obama is both criminal and hypocritical. And I bet it does not even work.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Calling all young chefs!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Calling all young chefs!

First Lady Michelle Obama is teaming up with Epicurious, the Department of Education, and the Department of Agriculture to host the third-annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge recipe contest.

Kids ages 8-12, with the help of their parents, can take part in the challenge by sending in original lunch recipes that are healthy, affordable, and tasty!

Participating young chefs can use USDA's MyPlate as a resource to make sure that their recipes meet healthy standards. Each lunch recipe should represent all of the food groups, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy foods, with fruits and veggies making up about half of the plate or recipe.

The creators of the best recipes will be invited to D.C. this summer, where they will have the opportunity to attend a Kids' "State Dinner," hosted by Mrs. Obama at the White House, where a selection of the winning healthy recipes will be served.

Just last week, the First Lady announced that cooking will be a new focus for Let's Move!, so start honing those skills and enter the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge.

The deadline to submit recipes is April 5 -- only two weeks away -- so if you're looking for something to do with your kids this weekend, get cooking!

Learn more about the challenge here, or visit recipechallenge.epicurious.com.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Epicurious Editor Tanya Steel listen as 12-year-old Haile Thomas, last year's recipe winner from Arizona, introduces Mrs. Obama during the Kids' State Dinner in the East Room of the White House, July 9, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

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Rewarding Women's Hard Work and Increasing the Minimum Wage

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Weekly Address: Rewarding Women's Hard Work and Increasing the Minimum Wage

In this week's address, President Obama highlights the importance of making sure our economy rewards the hard work of every American -- including America's women.

Click here to watch this week's Weekly Address.

Weekly Wrap Up

POTUS Fills Out His Brackets

For the sixth straight year, the President filled out his brackets for the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments. On the men's side, he has Louisville, Michigan State, Florida, and Arizona headed to the Final Four, with the Spartans winning it all.

On Tuesday, President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to 24 Army veterans for their service in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Nineteen of them were previously overlooked for the Medal of Honor due to their racial or ethnic backgrounds.

"No nation is perfect," the President said at the ceremony. "But here in America, we confront our imperfections and face a sometimes painful past, including the truth that some of these soldiers fought and died for a country that did not always see them as equal."

READ MORE

President Obama's Nowruz Message

As families and friends gathered around the As families and friends gather around the Sofreh-e Haft Sin to celebrate Nowruz, President Obama offered his best wishes for the new spring and new year.

In his message, the President speaks directly to the people and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran about the possibility for the first time in many years of a new chapter in the history of Iran and its role in the world -- including a better relationship with the United States and the American people.

The First Lady arrived in Beijing on Thursday, where she met with First Lady Peng Liyuan, visited the Beijing Normal School, and took in historic local sites.

LEARN MORE

As always, to see even more of this week's events, watch this week's episode of West Wing Week:

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Seth's Blog : Bulldozers and bullwhips

Bulldozers and bullwhips

Bulldozers work because they are incredibly heavy. It's fine that they're slow, they're powerful indeed.

Bullwhips work because they are incredibly fast. The superlight bit of leather at the end of the whip travels faster than the speed of sound, hence the crack.

Organizations often thrive because they have huge mass, they are irresistible forces, going where they are pointed. But they don't get there quickly.

On the other hand, it's quite possible to make an impact by being fast, light and quite focused.

Important to not confuse which you're using, though. Trying to make your bulldozer go faster might not work out so well. And you can't build a road with a bullwhip.