Canada's Third Party Gains Strength

In March the Canadian government collapsed giving chance to parties that have struggled to gain support and control an opportunity to emerge. One such party is the New Democrats who gain most of their economic views from a socialist stance. Recently this party has gained more control over the Liberals in Canada. What does this mean for Canada, will we see a significant or little economic change?

Japan's Leader Defends Handling of Crisis

"Japan’s embattled prime minister, Naoto Kan, defended his government’s handling of the nation’s nuclear crisis on Saturday, a day after an adviser resigned during a tearful news conference in which he charged that the government was not adequately protecting the population from radiation." As the opening paragraph for this article, one can see the importance it poses on the accountability the people are holding the Japanese government in dealing with the crisis responsibly and transparently.

As of now the Japanese Government is trying to deal with criticisms, as it figures out how to also deal with damaged soil and land and treating radioactive cases in the surrounding regions. One can understand how this is hard to do as they continue to push up the costs of repairs and damages. An increasing $300 Billion.

High Energy Costs Push Up Producer Prices

The article begins by stating how producer prices have risen .7 percent since March, as a result of high energy costs. The article then goes on by pointing out how consumers may see a price increase as well. Hauser finishes the article by mentioning the Federal Reserve and how its tactics to stimulate growth will not change because “there is sufficient room to allow prices to run." The most important sentence in the article comes at the end and states: “The economy can add a zillion jobs, but if wage growth is not coincident, aggregate purchasing power is likely to be constrained." Furthermore, it is safe to assume that as long producer prices continue to rise, as a result of high energy costs, then we are likely to see a rise in consumer prices over time.

Starbucks Targets Folks Who Shun Starbucks

Seattle’s Best coffee was acquired by Starbuck’s Coffee giant in 2001. Since then, Seattle’s Best hasn’t really been the best at anything. The small coffee company hasn’t really progressed in sales or market position since its acquisition by Starbucks. However, that’s all changing. Starbuck’s Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz has charged brand manager and global strategy chief Michelle Gass to remake Seattle’s Best coffee and reach a billion dollars sales target. While that goal remains far away, Gass has made major progress in repositioning Seattle’s Best in the market. As the new President of Seattle’s Best, Gass markets her coffee to customers who hate Starbucks big corporate feel and would rather settle for a no name type of coffee. It seems to be working. Gass has put her coffee in 300 AMC cinemas, aboard Delta Air Lines planes, and in Subway, Burger King, and Royal Caribbean Cruises. It’s also being distributed in vending machines at offices, hospitals and college campuses worldwide. Gass’s prime targets to sell Seattle’s Best coffee to are mass retailers and convenience, drug, and grocery stores, as well as mom-and-pop businesses. Gass has also recreated the Seattle’s Best packaging scheme. The packaging design is now color-coded and numbered 1 through 5. 1 is the mildest coffee for casual drinkers while number 5 is a dark roast for more hardcore coffee drinkers. In order for Seattle’s Best to compete with their big sister Starbucks, Gass feels that she must scale up production and marketing. Gass says that “With our big sister upstairs who owns coffee, the only way we have a chance to get a piece of that is to be disruptive”. While Schultz’s 1 billion dollar revenue goal is still far away, Gass’s disruptive Seattle’s Best is starting to truly attract customers of the coffee industry

US Growth Takes a Hit

US growth is taking a small turn downwards. It is not entirely the US' fault, says the Economist. They claim that both weather and outside influences have slowed US growth from initial rates of 4% to as low as 1.0% or below. Harsh winter weather decreased consumer spending, and rising oil prices because of unrest in the Middle East and North Africa contributed as well. With the advent of the Saudi's 10% production cut, this is bad news for the United States, who was predicted to have a durable recovery in 2011 after a rocky but successful 2010. I think this has the potential to be motivation for real efforts to make alternative energy viable as a replacement for oil and/or coal. It could also simply result in a prolonged slowing of growth, decreasing America's economic influence in the world even more.

Rising Oil Prices Cause Inflation Concerns in China

This article deals with the rising inflation concerns China is currently attempting to fight. Oil prices worldwide have been consistently rising over the past few months, and this has led to speculation that inflation in China may accelerate. The concern over inflation has caused the Shanghai Composite Index to drop, and investors worry that the government will continue its tightening policy. Consumer prices are projected to rise as much as 5% in April, and the yearlong inflation has a goal of 4%, so this is a major concern. The central bank has increased interest rates four times to attempt to fight inflation, because prices have been increasing at their highest level since early 2008.

Dollar's Decline Speeds Up, With Risks for U.S.

The U.S. dollar continues to slide downward at an accelerating pace due to low interest rates that creates inflation concerns and the large federal budge deficit. The downward pressure on the dollar is expected to continue with no relief in sight for the dollar. For the second week in a row, the dollar has fell nearly 1% against a broad basket of currencies this week.The ICE U.S. Dollar Index closed at its lowest level since August 2008, right before the financial crisis worsened.

Additionally, Chinese government officials have hinted that they may diversify their $3 trillion of currency reserves away from U.S. dollars. Consequently it would chip away at what has been the important source of dollar-buying in recent years. Washington has been pushing Beijing to allow the yuan to continue to appreciate, to help reduce the U.S. trade deficit. But a continued decline in the value of the dollar is a double-edged sword for the U.S. economy.

China, Japan, South Korea seek trilateral trade pact

This article reports the news of China, Japan and South Korea seeking a trilateral trade pact between the three countries.  The minister of trade met in Tokyo and agreed to increase efforts in free trade agreement in order to promote free flow of trade and investment which is vital to sustaining economic growth. 
The recent financial crisis from key markets such as U.S. and Europe has decreased the demand as well as the disaster in Japan. The tsunami and the earthquake in Japan has disrupted the various supply chains that had big effects in both China and Korea's economies.  The trade ministers of China and Korea urged Japan to restore the supply lines as soon as possible and also emphasized the positive role of increased trade will have in Japan's recovery. 
 A Joint Study Committed between the three countries were set up in order to develop a trilateral free trade agreement.

Saudis Cut Oil Production

Saudis recently announced they would reduce oil production/extraction by 800,000 barrels a day. With the demand for oil on the rise, this move is interpreted by some to bolster prices, which is speculated to be used for funding promised social programs to protect themselves from political turmoil.

Saudi Arabia averaged 8.2 million barrels a day last year and claim to be able to produce as much as 15 million. Cutting 800,000 barrels from 8.2 million is an extremely large cutback, nearly 10%.

Colombia's rising fortune

Without a doubt, Colombia has come a long way over the past ten years. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the country was suffering from widespread violence, a mortgage bust, and a budget crunch. Today, the security situation is much improved, foreign investment has increased, and commodity prices and oil output have risen. This recent good news does not, however, put them in the clear. For instance, they must take measures to deter a flood of foreign capital that could send the peso increasing at a rapid rate. Colombia's government is also under pressure to spend more money. Despite the military gains against the FARC guerrillas, many feel that more money still needs to be spent on security. Additionally, parts of the country desparately need better infrastructure. Finally, the country is suffering from high income inequality leading to pressure for social spending. Colombia is facing the demands of conflict and post conflict spending and it will be interesting to see how they respond in the years to come. So far they have slashed tax breaks and are presently trying to pass a Chilean-style fiscal rule to limit the deficit. Juan Carlos Echeverry, the finance minister, is confident that the government's economic plan will be able to handle their current situation.

Apple's Reliance on Japan for Components Put Sales at Risk

The Japanese earthquake that occurred this past March has affected not only Japan, but the entire world. The effects are especially felt in the business sector, as any companies who relied on Japan for goods and services have abruptly been caught off from Japanese suppliers. One such company is Apple. Apple's third quarter forecasts for sales, profit and gross margin will be affected significantly due to disrupted manufacturing and higher component prices. For example, flash memory is a key component in making up the memory databases in Apple's Iphone, Ipad and Macbook Air products. Higher flash drive prices mean higher production costs for Apple. Flash memory is not the only components Apple relies on Japan for. Batteries, touch-screen glass, and resin used to attach chips are all key components imported to Apple from Japan. Increasing demand for Apple products last quarter means that Apple must secure access to these parts quickly in order to fulfill the rising demand for Apple products. Even though the catastrophic earthquake in Japan has crippled many businesses, Apple is in far better position than most other companies. This fact is solidified by Apples 59.7 billion dollars in cash and investments. Apple should be able to handle the manufacturing disruptions and still meet the market's demands.

Gulf Tourism as Gauged by Flying Fish

The speed of the Gulf Coast tourist economy's recovery will face its next test this friday when fish fly at a state-straddling roadhouse. The Interstate Mullet Toss on the last weekend of April typically attracts huge crowds to the Flora-Bama bar in Pensacola, Florida, where participants try to throw a dead mullet fish as far as they can, from Florida across the sandy state border into Alabama.

Last year, thousands took part in the annual ritual with large parties and festivities while millions of barrels of oil were pouring into the Gulf. and large celebrations and partying—as millions of barrels of oil were leaking from the BP PLC's Macondo well miles away in Gulf waters. The mullet tossers paid it no mind. Following the event, gooey tar balls began to wash ashore leading to a terrible summer season all along the Gulf Coast.

Reservations for vacation rentals have been down in most beach towns and other Gulf communities and is uncertain if the typical number of summer tourists will return. There are signs of progress with the cleanup efforts and the increase tourism.

Area officials and locals believe this event will be a great beginning to the summer season and expect the return of thousands crowded along the beach watching the fish activities.

U.S. Growth Probably Slowed as Fuel Costs Rose

According to the article, our economy probably grew at a slower pace in the first quarter. The main reason is the jump in gasoline prices caused consumers to cut back.

Gross domestic product rose at a 1.9 percent annual pace after increasing at a 3.1 percent rate in the previous three months, according to the median estimate of 66 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before an April 28 Commerce Department report. At the same time, other data show business investment remained a pillar of the economic rebound, while home prices fell.

Federal Reserve policy makers, when they meet this week, will likely say they’ll complete the second round of stimulus worth $600 billion, as scheduled, through the end of June to help sustain the recovery. Big corporations like GEs or Apple Inc are among those benefiting from gains in spending on equipment and software, while households are feeling the pinch of higher food and fuel prices.

The GDP estimate is the first of three for the quarter, with the other releases scheduled for May and June when more information becomes available

Beer Drinking and What It Says About China’s Economy

China has increased the amount of beer they drink each year, making it the largest market for beer. The article looks at research that says people will drink more beer until their income rises to about $22,000 a year.  After this they start drinking less beer and more wine, with an increase in income. This trend holds true for other emerging markets like Russia and Brazil.

It's an interesting article, because in the article it makes the comparison to what American's experience in their 20's. In college you aren't making much money so you don't have that many responsibilities and many opportunities. But as your income increases, so do your responsibilities and you have less opportunities to drink, and there are more potential costs. 

You've had a pleasant run

A year after the BP oil spill in the gulf the negative effects it had on the fishing industry are beginning to wear off. Consumers' concern over the the safety of the fish has fallen 15% to around 75% since last year. The amount of people avoiding gulf seafood has also fallen to 25% from around 60%.  Despite these upturns, the fisherman are still having a tough time competing with foreign imports due to high fuel costs, stricter regulations and catch limits.

Latin Lessons- Restructuring Greece's debt

The Greek economy has been faltering for a couple of years now and the situation isn't improving. The European Union is has not dealing decisively with this issue, which according to this article (in the Economist) is causing the situation to get worse as time passes.

The political landscape in Europe is such that German leaders are refusing to allow any debt restructuring because German banks hold majority of Greek debt. Allowing to do so would burden German tax payers. As Germany bears considerable clout in the EU, they usually get their way.

Politicians use such issue to benefit of their constituencies. This creates anger and makes the situation more difficult to fix.

This Economist article argues that lessons should be learned from past experiences of US banks and US foreign policy towards Latin American countries. Uruguay and Mexico are 2 examples mentioned. Even though the situation isn't identical to the Latin American examples, it can be strongly argued that debt restructuring is necessary. Expecting Greece to pay back the loans at the original interest rates and at the current deadlines would be extremely misguided and unfair.

Fed, Bernanke on Investors' Radar Next Week

As earnings results for the first quarter are coming in for high net worth firms in technology and energy industries next week, eyes are on the Fed and their policy response to the new information. Some speculators think due to favorable first quarter numbers, interest rates will rises. But on the other hand, some speculators believe there will be no interest rate changes by the Fed, rather a continuation of the "quantitative easing" policy under a new name since speculators have a negative connotation for that phrase. Either way, investors and speculators alike will be watching and listening to what Bernanke has to say in the upcoming week.

Japan draws up $50 billion emergency budget

To deal with the cleanup and rehabilitation of its country, Japan's cabinet has approved a 4.02 trillion yen (about $50 billion) emergency budget. This temporary budget still needs to be approved by parliament, but analysts say it will likely be approved and put in place by early May.

The main point of contention around the $50 billion is how exactly the budget will be financed. Japan's debt already accounts for around 200 percent of its GDP. The Japanese government has said that among other small adjustments, it will cut back on overseas aid to pay for the budget, re-instate tolls on certain stretches of road, and increase the country's sales tax.

Those moves will fund this $50 billion emergency budget, but Japan estimates overall reconstruction cost estimates are closer to $300 billion. How will this huge project be financed? Due to a rising debt, issuing government bonds was ruled out as a way to finance the current emergency budget, but it is likely that the government will have to resort to issuing bonds to pay for the second budget.

Americans agree: The rich should pay higher taxes

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hey, rich folks! The American people are putting you on notice. They want you to pay higher taxes.

Two new polls suggest there is broad support for raising taxes on households making more than $250,000 a year, and all in the name of deficit reduction.

Heck, even a majority of Republicans want the rich to pay more.

A full 72% of adults approve of increasing federal taxes on households making more than $250,000 starting in 2013, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Fifty-five percent of Republicans want the tax hike, along with 74% of independents and 83% of Democrats.

This article is interesting. I believe that the rich should be taxed, it is reported that a percent increase in taxes for the rich would give the government a revenue of nearly a trillion dollars over 10 years. This move would be useful if the taxes were to be increased for the rich because it wouldn't affect the rich's spending on goods.

Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four

This is a very interesting short video from a section of 'The Joy of Stats' that tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes. Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, the video shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.

"Green" Fad Diminishes

The trend of "going green" has been popular the past few years. Many household cleaning companies introduced new products to satisfy consumer tastes and preferences in this category and despite the higher price tag, consumers bought the products. Now, however, with the recession recovery going slowly, the willingness to spend more on "green" products have vanished. Consumers' current concentration is on cost, not the environment. Trends change quickly, and firms are waiting to see when incurring expenses for such products will be worth their while.

Why gas is so expensive, when oil isn't

Gasoline prices have been rising for months. By April 20th, oil price reached $111 per barrel, while gas price reached $3.84 per gallon. The interesting thing is that compare to the price records in 2008, when oil reached $147 per barrel and gas was $4.11 per gallon, the current gas price is catching up with the 2008 record faster than oil price is. Specifically, gas price was 7% off the all time record price in 2008, while oil price was 24% off its record. Also, gas price usually rise slower than oil price.
The article explained that the the oil price reported was for a particular type of oil: West Texas Intermediate storing at Cushing, OK. There has been an increase in the oil supply from North Dakota, Montana, and Canada, while little more pipes have been built, keeping the oil price low. Gas price, however, reflects prices of many other types of oil, and those oil types have had greater increase in price: London's Brent crude was closer to $124 a barrel on Wednesday.
Still, the number doesn't really add up. Gas price is still much closer to its peak than oil price. This might be that there were more subsidies on gas price in 2008, when the government wasn't as vigorously cutting spending as now.

'Uneven' housing recovery continues

Although home sales have increased from the previous months, they are still down from a year ago. In the housing market, supply still far outweighs demand. Foreclosures are evident and the credit score to get a conventional mortgage has risen. First-time buyers purchased 33% of homes in March, down from 44% in March 2010.

Where's the growth?

This is a good article on the outlook of many US banks. Talks about increasing regulations, fines, prosecutions, and less activity that are all pushing down profits for banks. The future doesnt look good for these banks either with even more of the above mentioned factors coming just around the corner.

Baseball Takes Over Control of Los Angeles Dodgers

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday that he would appoint someone to oversee all operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers because of his “deep concerns” about the state of the marquee franchise.

The reason for Selig wanting to sell the franchise is because Frank McCourt, LA Dodgers owner, has recently damaged the once renowned franchise for his own benefit. It is reported that McCourt has put the team in well over $400 million in debt, and has had disputes with his wife who he recently divorced. If Selig can obtain 3/4 approval vote from all the owners, then he can sell the team on McCourt's behalf.

I believe that this is the end for McCourt as the team looks to be sold on his behalf very soon. He has damaged the franchise and it's time for a change. Selig, as well as the other owners, will put an end to this chaos.

Government Debt Ceiling raised

Disagreements between the Democrats who run the senate and Republicans who run the House of Representatives lead to a late decision of a budget for the rest of the fiscal year. The budget cut is very small when considering the estimated budget deficit for 2011. We can expect the American people to be very disappointed with the results of the negotiations between representatives of the democrats and the house of representatives.

" The Democrats brought events to this pass by neglecting to pass a budget last year, when they had control of both the House and the Senate. The Republicans, for their part, refused to accept a Democratic offer to cut the very amount their own leaders had originally proposed back in February, $75 billion, and instead held out for $100 billion"

The approach of both sides was inefficient considering the goal is to lower the government deficit given that the congress will have to raise the government debt ceiling it imposes.

Japan’s Exports Fall a More-Than-Expected 2.2% After Quake

Japan's exports fell more than economists expected in March as shipments of automobiles tumbled, declines analysts said may worsen as companies struggle to restore facilities and output in the wake of a record earthquake.Overseas shipments declined 2.2 percent from a year earlier, the first drop since November 2009. The median estimate of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 1.1 percent drop.Car exports fell 28 percent from a year earlier and shipments for electronic devices also slid as the disaster prevented companies from transporting goods. Automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. were forced to reduce production after the March 11 disaster.

The Assembly Line Is Rolling Again, Tenuously, at Honda in Japan

This article discusses the triumph for Honda in Japan. It has recently began to resume domestic production after the recent earthquake and tsunami that had devastated the automobile industry’s supply chains in Japan. This is great for the Japanese economy, as well as the world economy, for Honda has been one of the leading car manufacturing companies in the world in the last decade. However there are some crucial losses in inventory, which means there is a chance that they may have to shutdown there factories again. But, ultimately this is a good sign for Honda, and furthermore for Japan.

45% don't owe U.S. income tax

The statistics show that nearly half of U.S. households end up owing no federal income tax for tax year 2010. However, the stats is often misunderstood and misinterpreted, like this one. It does not mean 45% households end up paying no taxes at all--they still need to pay other taxes such as state and local income taxes, payroll taxes, and property and sales taxes. Membership to the non-payer group is not restricted to the poor, nearly 5 million households in the group make somewhere between $50,000 and more than $1 million. Very high-income households can fall into the non-payer group if they get their income from tax-exempt bonds or overseas sources for which they get foreign tax credits.

The ranks of those whose federal income tax burden nets out to zero,or less,have grown in recent years due to two reasons: 1). temporary tax breaks to mitigate the economic downturn; 2). The tax code is filled with tax breaks to encourage economic activities the government favors.

U.S. Economy: Trade Deficit Narrows Less Than Forecast

U.S. trade deficit narrowed less than forecasted in February, which indicates how the rising commodity prices have affected the economy. Prices of imported goods, especially oil, rose the quickest this past month. The rapid increase in commodity prices over the past year is because of the rise in global demand and the decrease in global supply. Increases in prices in commodities, such as oil and food, have hurt consumer spending. This is unfortunate because food and fuel account for about 70 percent of the economy.

The recovery of our economy will not derail because of the increase in commodity prices. It is unlucky for consumers because everyday commodities like fuel and food have increasing prices. However, eventually the economy will stabilize.

G.O.P. Pushes to Deregulate Environment at State Level

Due to the recession, many states have decided to cut down environmental budgets and eliminate some environmental regulations, such as land conservation, in order to enable more businesses to grow and provide more jobs.

Republicans made clear that reducing all government was important, but that cutting environmental regulations was a particular priority. It is sad to think how environmental protection is always the last to be concerned about and the first to get abandoned in hard times. We should doubt our sustainability of growth in the long run if forests and reserved lands keep giving their way to new buildings and industries.

Fed’s Evans: Without Wage Hikes, Little Inflation Pressure

Federal Reserve braces for the end of the second quantitative easing and is expected to increase interest rates in the near future in order to move toward tighter monetary policy. On April 4, 2011 the interest rate on two-year Federal Reserve note rose to 0.901% which is the highest level since May 2010. This indicates that the Federal Reserve might have already started implementing a new policy. Furthermore, declining unemployment rate supports the believe that the Federal Reserve will slow down its expansionary policy, decrease money supply, and focus its effort on preventing the inflation.

Market Troubles

This article talks about how there has been a drastic decline in the popularity of the free market system. it mentions that since 2002 there has been a 21% decline in people that support the free market system. However one interesting thing about this article was the countries that it mentioned who still show strong favoritism toward free market economies. those countries include China, Germany, and Brazil who all have economies that are performing very well. it just shows that there data presented in this article might be slightly biased because of the recession in the U.S.

70 or bust!: Current plans to raise the retirement age are not bold enough

Countries around the world are beginning up the age of retirement, in order to attempt to hold down the cost of state pensions while encouraging workers to stay at work. Since 1971 the life expectancy of the average 65-year-old in the rich world has improved by four to five years. By 2050, it is estimated that they will add a further three years on top of that. The average retirement age in the OECD in 2010 was 63, almost one year lower than in 1970.

Living longer, and retiring early, might not be a problem if the supply of workers were increasing. But declining fertility rates imply that by 2050 there will be just 2.6 American workers supporting each pensioner and the figures for France, Germany and Italy will be 1.9, 1.6 and 1.5 respectively. The young will be shoring up pensions systems which are riddled with problems- the public-sector pension is a bigger issue in America with a deficit that amounts to $3 trillion.

China reports first quarterly trade deficit in six years

China first time in six years reported quarterly trade deficit of $1.02 billion. It looks like the Chinese government is introducing some reforms to its export oriented economy in order to boost domestic consumption in the next five years. Starting this year, China launched its 12th five year plan of its transition toward market economy. China is also planning to slow its economic growth down a bit from the present double digit growth rate to 7 percent.

Wanted: A Tax Code for the Digital Age

This article centers around a comparison of Amazon.com and Target as companies, and the differences in their effective tax rates. The main issue at hand is the fact that Amazon's effective tax rate is significantly lower than that of Target, almost 10% lower in fact. This difference means that Amazon has a significant advantage over many of their competitors (including Target). The cause for this differential is the make-up of the companies; Target is a U.S.-based company who does sales only stateside, and most of its retail comes from sales directly from the store. Amazon, on the other hand, is an international company that saw 46% of its revenue in the past year come from international sales.

This difference in the companies allow Amazon to take advantage of its lower tax rate and operate with a higher rate of profit. Part of what we've been discussing recently is the important role laws play in terms of protecting American companies and how complicated things can get, and this is a perfect example. Amazon is not doing anything illegal; rather they're just using a loophole in tax law to gain what appears to be an unfair advantage. Examples such as this exist everywhere in our economy.

Banks Are Off the Hook Again

This is an interesting article that looks at the abuses of banks in concern with filing false court documents which have affected many home owners who have already lost 6.7 million homes and it is predicted that another 3.3 million will be lost in 2012. A draft agreement that was published by the American Banker suggests the punishment will not be severe and they exclude efforts to try and hold the banks accountable in the future, meaning they are unlikely to help the foreclosure crisis. The banks must follow existing law and current contracts and must hire independent consultants to check a sample of recent foreclosures for evidence of improper eviction and impermissible fees. The catch is that the consultants will be chosen by the banks, allowing the bank to decide what is appropriate.

Banks "Too Big to Fail" Could Get Bigger

Even though the Dodd-Frank financial reform law signed in mid-2010 was supposed to help control huge financial firms, they might instead help make big banks bigger. The reform made sure that taxpayers would never have to rescue the largest banks in order to stop the entire financial system from collapsing again. It seems that the federal agencies enforcing these laws seem to strengthen the dominant position of the bigger banks. The Federal Reserve issued regulations meant to curb commission payments could just as easily give big banks the chance to dominate the mortgage market. These same big bank biases again resurface in a rule purposed by 6 big name banks that requires “issuers of mortgage-backed securities to keep 5 percent of bonds on their books”. Conservative mortgages (borrowers with good credit and at least 20 percent down) are exempt. Large banks can afford to keep the required risk on their books. In the end, the Dodd-Frank financial reform which was supposed to end “too big to fail” might in turn make big banks bigger.

The Hidden Job Crisis for American Men

Recently, the March Jobs report which was released April 1^st stated that there was a drop in the jobless rate from 9.8 percent to an 8.8 percent. However, it seems an even bigger problem looms over the horizon. It seems that men in particular have given up looking for jobs and are not marked as unemployed. They become stuck as jobless and have difficulty finding jobs. They draw from government benefits or rely on family friends for support. They hurt the economy by draining government benefits that should be used on the unemployed. Men’s absence from the labor market is bad for men, their families, the economy, and the government finances. They make it difficult for other workers whom are unemployed to reenter the job market. A tighter labor market forces employers to consider a wider range of candidates. The article ends by saying “The effect of the ‘mancession’ on the male American workforce will be felt well into the recovery as some men stay stuck in unemployment”.

Recession is over for CEOs

This article explains that while millions of Americans are trying not to lose their homes and jobs, the paychecks for the top American executives are increasing and some are increasing by a lot. The chief executive of Viacom, Philippe P. Daumen made $84.5 million in under a year. Unfortunately for the rest of us, these increases have not been trickling down. Despite the recent fortunes of the CEOs, they are not employing more workers. Although unemployment is down from its peak, economists say that the jobless rate will not significantly change anytime soon. There are new rules in place stating that shareholders should have a say in the paychecks of executives of company but it isn't clear how much of a say. So far this input has been minimal clearly.

Cote d'Ivoire: The forgotten war?

This article talks about the role of the media in the Ivorian war. About thousand of people have been killed and the country has been sliding slowly towards a civil war between the pro Ggabgo and the pro Alassan (who where both proclaim has president of Ivory Coast). The Banks are closed, there is an ongoing battle right in the middle of the economic capital, people are stranded in their home with no food, and final the borders are close therefore no one can go out nor come in. My family was almost attacked by armed rebels and prisoners that have escaped the prisons and a bomb recently killed one of my family members.

Yet the medias have forgotten about the Ivorian situation because of new up coming stories such has Libya. This makes me question the role of the media and their credibility, They are suppose to inform us about what is currently going on around the world and it seem to me that they are not doing so, instead they select what to information is more important to them or which is good for business.

The Budget- the real fight begins

This week Congress has been busy with three overlapping budgetary debates-about a “continuing resolution” to keep the government up and running for the rest of this fiscal year, about next year’s budget and about whether to raise the legal limit on the federal government’s debt. Next year's budget must be figured out by lawmakers in under 6 months and America's debt will reach the current ceiling in under 6 weeks. But without a new resolution, the government’s authority to spend will expire at midnight on April 8th

New Deal avoids government shutdown

Democrats and republicans have struck a deal regarding the government budget. Both parties gave compromises while the democrats agreed to cut nearly $80 billion from the proposed budget for the year, equalling nearly $38 billion less from current spending levels. Although this bill has passed, the next challenge will be the agreeing on raising the debt ceiling imposed on the federal government. The republicans say they will not pass the bill unless the democrats agree to even larger budget cuts, which had led this past bill to almost not pass. Only time will tell.