Eddie Floyd, 63, shovels the sidewalk at an abandoned house at 242 W. 110th Place in the Roseland neighborhood. The Chicago Tribune – More banks walking away from homes, adding to housing crisis Research shows 1,896 red flag homes in Chicago appear to have been abandoned during foreclosure process Research to be released Thursday, the… Continue reading All About Foreclosures
The Financial Times – Lex: US foreign profits Oft quoted is that half of S&P 500 companies’ revenues are from beyond America’s shores. But a closer look at the government’s national and international accounts tells a less heartening story in aggregate. For a start, the proportion of after-tax profits earned by US companies abroad has… Continue reading Foreign Profits
The Economist – Federal debt: Dancing on the ceiling Talk of America defaulting on its debt is just that FOR most finance ministers default is usually a subject to be avoided at all costs. Not so in America, where Tim Geithner, the treasury secretary, sent Congress a letter on January 6th describing in gory detail… Continue reading Is The U.S. Still Aaa?
The Economist – The recovery: Still patchy American firms are hiring again, but hold the cheers WITH the dawn of 2011 America’s recovery is officially longer-lived than the recession that preceded it. It is a recovery that seems to be strengthening, raising hopes that employers will at last develop an appetite for hiring. America remains… Continue reading Hirings
The Economist – Hedge funds: Macrobatics To make money, macro hedge funds must be nimble A WILDERNESS of mirrors is how Hugh Hendry of Eclectica Asset Management, a macro hedge fund, has described the uncertain investment landscape, quoting a poem by T.S. Eliot. For macro hedge funds, which bet on global economic trends by trading… Continue reading Hedge Funds
The Economist – The size of the states: If they were countries It has long been true that California on its own would rank as one of the biggest economies in the world. At present it would rank 8th, falling between Italy and Brazil on a nominal exchange-rate basis. But how do other American states… Continue reading If States Were Countries
The Chicago Sun Times – Wisconsin gov likes Ill. tax hike Forget cheese curds along Interstate 94 or speed traps designed to nab Illinois vacationers on the way to the North Woods. Wisconsin thinks it has a new strategy to make a buck off of Illinois thanks to Gov. Quinn and the state Legislature’s backing… Continue reading Illinois Hikes Rates, Wisconsin Loves It
None Today
<Click on chart for larger image> Zero Hedge (Blog) – 2011 Starts With A Bang: $4.2 Billion In OUTFLOWS From Domestic Equity Funds Now this is just hilarious. After ICI just revised the last two data points of 2010 which were originally inflows, even if modest, to one outflow and one minimal inflow, more importantly… Continue reading Don’t Expect Mutual Fund Inflows To Return Any Time Soon
<Click on chart for larger image> Chart courtesy of TheChartStore.com The Wall Street Journal – Arthur Laffer: A Price for Raising the Debt Ceiling In March, the debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion is going to be hit. Today’s debt number is about $13.9 trillion and rising faster than a jack rabbit. Mr. Goolsbee is correct… Continue reading The Debt Ceiling
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – S&P, Moody’s Warn On U.S. Credit Rating Two leading credit rating agencies on Thursday cautioned the U.S. on its credit rating, expressing concern over a deteriorating fiscal situation that they say needs correction. Moody’s Investors Service said in a report Thursday that the U.S.… Continue reading Moody’s Tells A Tale Of Two Countries
MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Buffett’s Buddy Charlie Munger to Goldbugs: ‘You’re a Jerk.’ Not long ago Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Vice Chairman Charlie Munger sounded off on gold during an interview. Munger, 87 years old, has long been one of the closest confidants of Berkshire Chairman and Chief Executive Warren Buffett, though he has been less… Continue reading Apparently Charlie Munger Is Not A Gold Bug