Some Good Economic News, but Will It Last?
In recent weeks, a series of encouraging reports on the United States economy, culminating in the December employment report, has provided tantalizing evidence that the recovery is strengthening. But it’s too early to celebrate.
Both 2010 and 2011 started with good economic news and forecasts of a strong growth rebound but proved to be disappointing. Despite recent signs of strength, most forecasts for 2012 predict that growth will fall short of 2.5 percent, the rate required to absorb anticipated increments to the labor force, and that’s assuming Congress extends the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits through the year.
Right now, it looks as though the United States economy will continue to recover at a moderate pace in 2012. But there are considerable downside risks that could cause growth to falter.
The central problem remains inadequate aggregate demand – both at home and around the world. The s
Bankruptcy in Scotland
Bankruptcy (sequestration) is a form of insolvency. Often seen as a ‘last resort’, bankruptcy can be especially helpful for people who can’t afford to repay their unsecured debt – and need to have part of it ‘written off’.
Bankrupts are protected from any legal action from their lenders as soon as the bankruptcy starts. Any unsecured debt that they cannot afford is written off as part of the bankruptcy, and while their bankruptcy is ongoing they won’t have to pay more towards it than they can afford once they’ve accounted for their monthly essential expenses like rent / mortgage and utilities. However, the value of any assets (including property, savings and investments) can be distributed between their lenders until as much of the debt as possible is cleared.
Bankruptcy usually lasts for one year, after which the bankrupt is ‘discharged’ from their unsecured debts. Read more…
Congressmen Press Extension of Sales Tax Deduction
A bipartisan group of lawmakers are seeking to make sure an extension of the deduction for state and local sales tax payments is included in the tax extenders package that is expected to come before Congress early next year.
The effort is being led by Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Jim McDermott, D-Wash., who are two senior members of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. They were joined by 66 other members of Congress from both parties, who sent a letter Friday to Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., and ranking Democratic member Sander Levin, D-Mich.
The lawmakers who signed the letter mainly come from seven states without a state individual income tax: Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming.
Disturbing economic trends continue into 2012
2012 has gotten off to a relatively uneventful start on all fronts. Stock and Bond markets continue on autopilot appear to be underwritten by central banks, and commodity prices seem to be following the inflationary path that the central banks support of the stock and bond markets has set them on. Meanwhile, productivity, real output, appears stable and poised to climb, which should further fuel inflation as the money supply begins to overwhelm the supply of real goods and labor. Another disturbing trend is that widespread corruption seems to continue unabated. Officials at MF Global and the CME are still on the loose after robbing $1.2 billion of client funds in a desperate attempt to stave off the margin call which brought down the firm as the CME washed its hands of the situation, leaving traders everywhere wondering if their funds and positions were safe. No Read more…
Kentucky Grain Dealer Bond Update
Kentucky grain dealers/warehouseman are affected by a revised bill that was recently enacted. The bill is titled HB 221 and modifies the bond requirements for grain warehousemen and grain dealers. The previous legislation required a surety bond of at least twenty-five cents per bushel of the total maximum bushel capacity of the warehouse or $10,000, whichever is more. HB 221 boosts the alternate minimum bond quantity from $10,000 to $25,000 and caps the maximum amount of the bond at $1 million.
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