miercuri, 10 iunie 2015
Seth's Blog : The tension of now
The tension of now
Later is the easiest way to relieve the tension that accompanies now.
But later rarely leads to the action we seek and the change we need.
When you encounter the tension of now, caused by the urgency of action, veer toward more tension, not less now.
More Recent Articles
- Control or resilience
- High resolution is not the same as accurate
- Holding the umbrella
- The Debate Channel
- Blah, blah, blah
[You're getting this note because you subscribed to Seth Godin's blog.]
Don't want to get this email anymore? Click the link below to unsubscribe.
marți, 9 iunie 2015
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis |
- Seven Charts Explain Why Chicago Bonds Rated Junk
- Volcker Sounds Alarm Over States' Budget Gimmicks, Pension Assumptions
- Greek "Paperology"; Obama Pressures Greece; Proposal Dismissed by Creditors as "Vague Rehash"; Dismal Choices
- At Least Two More Illinois Cities Poised for Bankruptcy
Seven Charts Explain Why Chicago Bonds Rated Junk Posted: 09 Jun 2015 10:52 PM PDT Looking for a reason Chicago bonds are rated junk? This guest post by Michael Johnston at Fixed Income Database explains why Chicago is junk in seven easy to understand charts. Chart #1: Massive Debt Burden Simply put, Chicago is shouldering an enormous amount of debt. By some calculations, the city is on the hook for as much as $63 billion when pensions, long-term notes, and health insurance obligations are included. That amounts to a staggering $23,300 for every inhabitant of the city, representing a huge chunk of the annual income for the city's residents and nearly 10 times the size of the per capita annual budget. Data Sources: Illinois Policy Institute, 2010 Census, Chicago Budget. Per capita income estimate is for Cook County. Chart #2: Growing Payments While the current state of the city's balance sheet is dismal, the real problem relates to what is expected to develop over the next decade. Chicago pension plan payments are expected to double from 2014 to 2015, and will then continue to rise for another decade before they begin to decline. By the time payments peak in 2026, they will be four times the 2014 level. Data Source: Moody's estimates Chart #3: Limited Taxing Ability The easiest way for a government to boost revenues is through tax increases. For cities, property taxes are often a primary revenue stream. While it is certainly possible that Chicago will raise property taxes — in fact, it's a near certainty — there will be a limit to the increases possible. Illinois residents already pay the second-highest property taxes in the country. Data Source: WalletHub Chart #4: Unrealistic Expected Rates of Return The city's pension liabilities have ballooned in part as a result of unrealistic expectations for the returns on the assets. For fiscal 2013, Chicago's various pension plans were assuming annual rates of returns ranging from 7.5 percent to 8.25 percent. Unfortunately, the actual performance has failed to live up to these lofty expectations. The Municipal Employees' Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago (MEABF) reported a 10-year average return of just 5.6 percent as of 2014. The Laborers & Retirement Board Employees' Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago (LABF) reported a "gross of fees" return of 6.3 percent for the 10 years ended March 31, 2015. 10-year returns as of 12/31/14 for MEABF and 3/31/15 for LABF. 5-year returns as of 12/31/13 for Police. When the actual results fall short of expectations for an extended period of time, the gap between assets and liabilities can begin to rapidly grow. That's exactly what has happened to Chicago's pension plans; despite paying millions of dollars in fees — the police pension fund doled out over $8.6 million to managers and consultants in 2013 — returns have fallen far short of expectations. Chart #5: Compounding Unrealistic Rates of Return The disconnect between the expected returns used by Chicago's pension funds and reality are disappointing. But when they continue over an extended period of time, this gap can spell economic disaster. The difference between 7.75 percent and 5.60 percent in annual returns may not seem like much, but when these rates of return compound, a massive gap appears The MEABF pension fund has been assuming that its approximately $5 billion of assets will grow to about $9.8 billion over the course of 10 years. Based on historical returns, it will actually grow to $8.2 billion — leaving a gap of nearly $600 per resident. This same scenario is playing out across multiple pension funds, for even longer periods of time. Chart #6: Accelerating Expenses Although Chicago has increased revenue through a number of different tax strategies, expenses have been rising considerably in recent years as well. Data Source: City of Chicago Annual Budget for 2013, 2014, and 2015 Chart #7: Actual Junk While Chicago's budget issues are largely related to an underfunded pension system, the city isn't exactly frugal in the way it spends money for other services. Many of the day-to-day aspects of city operations are extremely inefficient and expensive relative to other major metropolitan areas. Data Source: Citizens Budget Commission Reducing the cost of trash pickup obviously won't solve all of Chicago's problems; this service accounts for only a small fraction of the city's budget. But the cost differences relative to other major American cities highlight the general lack of fiscal discipline that plagues the city. The above charts and analysis courtesy of Michael Johnston at Fixed Income Database. 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. |
Volcker Sounds Alarm Over States' Budget Gimmicks, Pension Assumptions Posted: 09 Jun 2015 02:25 PM PDT The Volcker Alliance, founded by former Fed chairman Paul Volcker has sounded an alarm over budget gimmicks. The alliance seeks Truth and Integrity in State Budgeting. In the report, the Volcker Alliance examines in detail the budgeting practices of California, New Jersey and Virginia, assessing the effectiveness of each state's practices. The report highlights the need for effective and transparent budgeting practices by "shining a spotlight on opaque and confusing practices and by identifying more appropriate approaches" when creating state budgets and fiscal policy. Executive SummaryThere is much more in the 60-page report. I side with the independent experts in regards to pension plan assumptions. The California pension assume 7% returns. I suggest there will be -2 to +2% percent returns over the next seven years. For further discussion, please see Seven Year Negative Returns in Stocks and Bonds; Fraudulent Promises. Such returns would devastate California and crucify Illinois. Sadly, there have been no reforms at all in Illinois. 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. |
Posted: 09 Jun 2015 11:49 AM PDT Greece remains in the spotlight and neither side seems willing to make a substantial change. This is the way it's been for five years. Making matters worse for Greece, President Obama Says Time for Tsipras to Make 'Tough Choices'. Barack Obama, the US president, put Athens on notice that it needed to urgently make difficult economic reforms in the clearest sign yet Greece was becoming isolated on the international stage for its combative stance towards its bailout creditors.Proposal Dismissed by Creditors as "Vague Rehash" Bloomberg reports New Greek Budget Plan Falls Short of Last Week's Pledge. Greece pulled back on budget concessions to its creditors in new proposals Tuesday, as German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said it would be "daft" to accept blame for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's predicament.Greek "Paperology" Continues The Financial Times reports 'Paperology' Continues, but Mood Darkens in Greece Talks. Greece has submitted yet another last-minute economic reform proposal to its bailout creditors — and its creditors have once again dismissed it as lacking. The process has become numbingly familiar in recent weeks — so much so that the European Commission has even given it a name: "paperology".Two Dismal Plans Wolfgang Münchau discusses Two Dismal Economic Plans for Greece. There are now two proposals on the table — one from the creditors and one from Greece. What they have in common is that neither of them will fix the Greek economy. They do not even pretend. Both deserve to be rejected flat-out.Nearly Correct Münchau goes on to say "The worst possible outcome would be another extend-and-pretend type deal, leaving an unreformed and cash-deprived Greece in a perma-depression." On that point I strongly agree. But higher taxes will just make matters worse. The main thing Greece needs is pension and work rule reform. The best possible outcome would be for Greece to tell the Troika to go to hell, default, initiate reforms and grow out of the problem. Unfortunately, Tsipras does not want those reforms, while the creditors want higher taxes. Hiking taxes in the middle of an economic depression is madness. The only reason it has not come to Grexit already is insistence from Chancellor Merkel that Greece stay in the eurozone. Haircuts Coming One way or another, haircuts are coming. Either the creditors agree to them or Greece defaults. The game now for both sides has nothing to do with what's best for Greece. Instead, both sides simply want to point the finger at the other when this mess flies apart. Had the ECB been smart, it would have ended Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) long ago. But that would have given Greece the upper hand in finger-pointing. Instead, time buying "paperology" allows Greek citizens to quietly pull money from Greek banks. German taxpayers will pay one way or another. The smart move would have been to discuss another haircut while demanding genuine reforms instead of tax hikes. But neither side could sell such a plan to its constituency. Dishonesty by both sides is rampant. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot 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. |
At Least Two More Illinois Cities Poised for Bankruptcy Posted: 09 Jun 2015 12:38 AM PDT On May 29, citing a report mentioned in Bond Buyer, I noted Five Chicago Suburbs Headed for Bankruptcy (More Illinois Cities Will Follow). The cities are Maywood, Sauk Village, Blue Island, Country Clubs Hills, and Dolton. The village of Dolton strongly disagrees with the report. The others did not comment. The Bond Buyer report was based on an analysis of state comptroller's local government Finance Warehouse by Marc Joffe at CivicPartner, a municipal finance research firm. I have since been in contact with Joffe and asked for an opinion of several cities I believe to be seriously troubled. My top two choices were Harvey and Robbins. Harvey and Robbins Joffe responded ... Hello MishStrict Standards I gave Marc a few other cities to research, but the focus now is on the worst of the worst. The reason is that municipal bankruptcies require inability to meet current expenses as opposed to corporate bankruptcies that only require proof of insolvency. Numerous Illinois cities are technically insolvent, but for now can pay the current bills. Pension obligations will eventually wreck many of them. In addition to the previously mentioned cities, taxing bodies like the Chicago Board of Education are currently among the walking dead. Illinois desperately needs to pass legislation that will allow municipalities to go bankrupt, but the law is still hung up in the legislature. Illinois Crisis For more on the bankruptcy and pension crisis in Illinois, please see ....
Every delay in passing much needed bankruptcy legislation hurts the cities that need to file, while exacerbating the problems for all Illinoisans in the meantime. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot 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. |
You are subscribed to email updates from Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States |
Damn Cool Pics
Damn Cool Pics |
Angelina Jolie And Brad Pitt Pass On First Class As They Fly To Paris Posted: 09 Jun 2015 02:34 PM PDT |
Posted: 09 Jun 2015 12:17 PM PDT |
You are subscribed to email updates from Damn Cool Pictures To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States |