In the News – week of Nov. 16, 2009
November 22nd, 2009Find out what’s been going on from sources outside of the “main” media. It may just surprise you.
For this week’s “COOL News” – click here
“Money for nothing: Some investors pay for advice they never get”
“Sam in Boston built his mutual-fund portfolio years ago but has long since stopped working with the financial adviser who set it up. Renee in Santa Barbara, Calif., hasn’t worked with an adviser for years, since hers retired. Alan in Colleyville, Texas, bought a mutual fund years ago on a cold call from a broker. The fund investment turned out fine, but the broker quit the financial-services business a short time later. What these investors have in common is that they have stuck with funds even though they no longer work with the adviser. Moreover, all three believe that, because they have no adviser currently, they’re not paying for the assistance of an adviser. They’re wrong.” . . .
quoting The Seattle Times
“Top Eurobank prepares for ‘global economic collapse’”
“In a report entitled “Worst-case debt scenario”, the bank’s asset team said state rescue packages over the last year have merely transferred private liabilities onto sagging sovereign shoulders, creating a fresh set of problems. Overall debt is still far too high in almost all rich economies as a share of GDP (350pc in the US), whether public or private. It must be reduced by the hard slog of “deleveraging”, for years. “As yet, nobody can say with any certainty whether we have in fact escaped the prospect of a global economic collapse,” said the 68-page report, headed by asset chief Daniel Fermon. It is an exploration of the dangers, not a forecast.” . . .
quoting the Telegraph
“Mayors Sound Alarm Over Drop in City Revenues”
“WASHINGTON — Mayors from four U.S. cities said they are facing a once-in-a-generation fiscal crisis and that federal stimulus funds have, so far, been largely unhelpful in helping them balance budgets hit by steep drops in nearly every source of municipal revenue. The comments, from mayors of Philadelphia, San Jose, Calif; Mesa, Ariz., and Bowling Green, Ky., at a panel discussion sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the National League of Cities, underscore how the recession for local government is far from over. Mesa’s mayor, Scott Smith, said the steep drops in sales-tax revenue, the city’s primary source of money, are “changing our reality.” “We treat this financial crisis as something we’re not going to get out of,” said Mr. Smith, whose city has about 500,000 citizens and is in the Phoenix metropolitan area.Even as economists declare the recession over, local revenues continue to fall.” . . .
quoting The Wall Street Journal
“CALIFORNIA ON THE BRINK? UCLA students protests 32% tuition hike”
“LOS ANGELES (AP) – Hundreds of protesters chanted, marched and took over a building Thursday on the UCLA campus, where University of California regents were scheduled to vote on a 32 percent student fee increase.
The UC Board of Regents is considering boosting undergraduate fees—the equivalent of tuition—by $2,500 by summer 2010. For a second day, the proposal drew demonstrators to the University of California, Los Angeles. Some came from other UC campuses and stayed overnight in a tent city.” . . .
quoting Breitbart
“Unemployment Rose in 29 States Last Month; Michigan Rate Highest at 15.1%.”
“Joblessness rose in 29 U.S. states last month compared with 22 in September, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Michigan had the highest jobless rate at 15.1 percent, followed by Nevada at 13 percent and Rhode Island at 12.9 percent. The national rate last month reached a 26-year high of 10.2 percent, weighing on consumer spending that accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Nov. 17 that joblessness “likely will decline only slowly,” a reason policy makers will keep interest rates near zero to ensure growth is sustained. “We’ve had a surprisingly sharp jump in the jobless rate,” said Richard DeKaser, president of Woodley Park Research in Washington. “Businesses have truly been doing an extraordinary job of wringing out productivity from the labor force.” . . .
quoting Bloomberg
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“Unburied bodies tell the tale of Detroit — a city in despair”
“The abandoned corpses, in white body bags with number tags tied to each toe, lie one above the other on steel racks inside a giant freezer in Detroit’s central mortuary, like discarded shoes in the back of a wardrobe. Some have lain here for years, but in recent months the number of unclaimed bodies has reached a record high. For in this city that once symbolised the American Dream many cannot even afford to bury their dead. . .”
quoting Bloomberg.com
“Congressman seeks USPS Bailout “
“It’s been an ugly few years for the United States Postal Service. The quasi-government agency announced this week that it lost $3.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year, which ended September 30th. It also delivered less mail – 26 billion fewer pieces less, a nearly 13 percent drop from the previous year. The bad news follows losses totaling $7.8 billion in 2007 and 2008. The Postal Service, as it is quick to point out, is legally prohibited from taking tax dollars. But in order to stay afloat, the agency has been actively borrowing from the U.S. Treasury: At last count, according to Postal Service spokeswoman Yvonne Yoerger, it owes the government $10.2 billion.” . . .
quoting CBS News
“Gun sales shoot up amid America’s fear of rising crime and terrorism”
“Smith & Wesson, the famed American gunmaker once owned by Tomkins, the British conglomerate, expects to nearly double its annual sales in the next three to five years as demand for its firearms soars in the recession. It is not alone. All over America demand for firearms and ammunition is rising amid concerns that rising unemployment, which passed 10 per cent this month, will lead inexorably to higher rates of crime. Fears of terrorism have also helped to lift demand, as have concerns among gun owners that” . . .
quoting The Times
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