Tag Archives: unemployment

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? President of Argentina dumps U.S. dollars. Pesos more profitable, or just another sign of Hyper Inflation?

“I’ve just had one fixed term account in dollars for some time, and I’ve decided to put it in pesos, it’s more profitable to have it in [Argentine] pesos.”-Cristina Fernandez, President of Argentina

7 June 2012, la Presidenta also urged “…any officials who’ve got a few little dollars to do the same thing.”

Argentina is the number three economy in South America.  However, having a booming economy has resulted in an inflation rate around 9 to 10%!  The result is that many people, and banks, in Argentina are buying up U.S. dollars to try and hedge against hyperinflation.

Argentines have been there done that many times before.  Many people bought U.S. dollars to survive Argentina’s notorious hyperinflation in the past, but this time the U.S. economy is in the toilet, so buying up those gringo dollars might be a bad move.

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Government Incompetence: Vacuum cleaner causes fire that results in $400 million repair bill for U.S. taxpayers!

It turns out that a “massive” fire on a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine, on May 24,  was caused by a vacuum cleaner!  It burned for several hours and sent several personnel to the hospital. The sub was docked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, in the U.S. state of Maine.

Now comes the news that the fire was caused by a vacuum cleaner “…stored in an unoccupied space…”, and that the “…initial rough repair cost…” will be $400 million plus 10%!!!

And guess who pays for the U.S. Navy’s mistakes?  The U.S. taxpayer!

At least the Russian’s claimed their recent submarine fire was an act of sabotage by U.S. agents.

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Best Buy founder jumps ship, hopes his leaving will help company recover!

“There is an urgent need for Best Buy to reinvigorate growth by reconnecting with today’s customers and building pathways to the next generation of consumers.”-Richard Schulze, founder of Best Buy

7 June 2012, founder and boss of Best Buy for 36 years, Richard Schulze, has resigned.

Best Buy has been struggling with falling sales, and accusations of inappropriate behavior by members of the board.

A former CEO of Best Buy is accused of “…violated company policy by engaging in an extremely close personal relationship with a female employee that negatively impacted the work environment…”-Best Buy statement

Best Buy suffered a 26% drop in net income for the 1st quarter of 2012!

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? British government cuts services, then charges British taxpayers for Queens Jubilee! Royal parasite family just lost the British economy $1.8 billion+!

5 June 2012, the government of United Kingdom has been slashing and burning social programs, yet charges the taxpayers for the Queen’s Jubilee!

While the people of Britain have been told that austerity measures are necessary, they were forced to pay at least $1.5 million USD so that the Queen could celebrate 60 years of rule!  The $1.5 million is the estimated amount coming from the Sovereign Grant Fund, as reported by The Guardian.

The Sovereign Grant Fund is what the British subjects (taxpayers) pay to the Royal parasite family. You could call the Royal parasite family the wealthiest welfare recipients in the world!

Queen Elizabeth II is not a figure head, and any public ceremony held for the Royal parasite family is paid for by taxpayers!

Private donations also pay for the Royal parasite family’s public parties.  According to estimates reported in The Guardian, donations paid for $16.2 million USD of the jubilee expenses.

Local governments forked over an average of  $700,000 USD to support the jubilee.

Then there’s the “extra costs” caused by the fact that most businesses were closed for the jubilee.  One estimation says the extra “bank holiday” could end up costing the British economy $1.8 billion USD!

Back in March, the Bank of England warned of economic doom because of continued support for the Royal elites.  So much for the Royal parasite family being of any benefit to the people of Britain!

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Emergency meeting Group of 7! “Impossible” to save Spain! Major credit freeze coming, just as Toyota warned!

“It is really hard in Spain to get a job right now because there are no jobs, and if somewhere you might have a chance, they do not want to pay what is more or less normal. Plus, everything is so expensive: supermarkets, food… Everything is really difficult now.”-Ada Adon, unemployed in Madrid, Spain

 

It has been revealed that the seven top industrialized countries (Group of 7, aka G7) had been in an emergency phone conference since late last night Japan time, early morning U.S. time!

Finance and banking officials from Japan, United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Italy were discussing the global economic situation, a sign that things are getting worse!  The focus is on the European Union (EU).

No joint statement was issued, but Japan’s Finance Minister, Jun Azumi, said all efforts at the moment will focus on preventing a total collapse of the EU.

A German analysts said many investors are on the verge of giving up: “History is repeating itself, we are again in full crisis mode. Last year: crisis; this year: crisis.  The politicians have learned nothing. It would be so easy though. The ECB [European Central Bank] should massively intervene and buy time for countries like Italy and Spain so that they can pursue reforms. Nobody can bear this cacophony, this waiting, this riding out any more.”-Robert Halver, Baader Bank

This comes before the G20 meeting, and it comes on the same day Spanish officials announced a possible second credit crisis.

Spanish Treasury Minister, Cristobal Montoro, admitted on Spanish radio that it was “technically impossible” to save Spain’s economy!

It turn’s out that the recently created EU European Stability Mechanism (a bailout fund) doesn’t have enough money to bailout Spain, let alone other EU members!

Montoro blames high interests rates for crashing the Spanish economy, as well as other EU economies. He says the result will be another huge credit crunch.  On 31 May 2012, Toyota of Japan signaled such an international credit crisis by announcing it was selling $2.5 billion USD in bonds, to raise cash in order to ride out a second coming credit crisis (of course the U.S./British media misreported it).

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Idaho’s Hoku Materials about to be finished off by lawsuits from unpaid contractors! Lays off 100 more employees in Bannock County!

“The proceeds of the loan are insufficient to pay down current liabilities, resume construction or start commercial operations. The loan proceeds will be used to fund working capital requirements while we plan for a restructuring of our liabilities, and the liabilities of our subsidiary Hoku Materials Inc.”– Scott Paul, CEO of Hoku Corporation

At the end of May, 2012, the CEO of Hoku Corporation basically said that Hoku Materials, in Pocatello, Idaho, has ceased operations, even before it began operations!

I speculated that the 17 May decision to jack up U.S. tariffs on Chinese made solar products would be the final nail in the coffin for Hoku Materials, and it looks like I was right.

This is because Hoku turned to Chinese companies to bail them out of their financial woes.  They became a subsidiary of Tianwei New Energy Holdings, which is an affiliate of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC).  All their contracts are with Chinese solar product companies hoping to increase their business in the United States.

On top of that, JH Kelly, primary contractor working on the Hoku Materials project, is finally fed up with not being paid and has sued Hoku.

At the beginning of 2012 Hoku Materials laid off 20 employees (according to an Idaho State Journal report, that left around 150 employees).

In April, remaining construction work was stopped all together (due to the lawsuits).

At the end of May 2012, a local Pocatello TV station started getting phone calls from unnamed sources within the Hoku Materials factory.  The callers were reporting massive layoffs.

Hoku Materials admitted to the local TV station that they laid off another 100 employees, because of massive debts, the increased U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar products, and civil suits by JH Kelly and other contractors!  Hoku is now going through “restructuring”, which usually includes selling off assets to pay debts.

I’ve been warning since 2010 of the impending doom of Hoku Materials.  The sad thing is that officials with the city of Pocatello, as well as Bannock County officials, bent over backwards to get Hoku to build their polysilicon plant in Pocatello (that included essentially giving the land to Hoku, by allowing a tax credit equal to the value of the land). This is because truly good paying jobs have become hard to find locally (no thanks to previous city and county leaders chasing off major employers for personal/religious reasons, such as refusing to allow Union Pacific to make Pocatello their Pacific Northwest Depot!).

Now there’s an unfinished polysilicon factory, taking up space equal to 50 football fields!  To top that, the factory butts up to a residential area, a once dead end residential street is now the entry road to the defunct factory!

NEW Obama imposed U.S. TARIFFS ON CHINESE SOLAR PANELS COULD BE THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN FOR IDAHO’S HOKU MATERIALS

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Sears to sell off Canadian operations!

31 May 2012, Sears Holdings announced that it will sell off a portion of its Sears Canada operations.  Currently Sears Holdings controls 95% of Sears Canada.

Sears Holdings said it “…will retain approximately 51% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Sears Canada.”  So they are willing to let go of 49% control of Sears Canada in order to raise cash, however, Sears Holdings states they reserve “…the right not to complete the spin-off …”.

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? 1% Elitist Queen of England’s Crown Estate sees 9,200% increase in revenues! Why aren’t the British commoners benefiting?

2 June 2012, United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II’s rental property & business management empire, Crown Estate, reported a 9,200% increase in revenue over the past 60 years!

Keep in mind that according to an Act of Parliament, all profits from the Royal property/business management scheme are to go to the British Treasury!  According to the Financial Times: “Under an agreement struck between King George III and the government in 1760, the portfolio was managed by the Crown on behalf of the state, with surplus revenue going to the Treasury. In turn, the Treasury made a fixed annual payment to the monarch.” 

Also: “The Queen has no powers to liquidate assets belonging to the Crown Estate. She cannot buy or sell properties and is entitled to a modest slice of the company’s revenues.”

So how much money is the Crown Estate making?  Here’s what the Crown Estate’s own website claims:  “…the urban estate the value of the portfolio increased by 11.6 per cent to £5.2 billion [$7.9 billion USD].”

“…marine estate revenue increased by 1.7 per cent to £47.4 million [$72.8 million USD]. Total property value rose to £586.9 million [$902.2 million USD]…”

“…income from renewables….rose….to £3.5 million [$5.3 million USD]…”

“The coastal estate…added £14.3 million [$21.9 million USD] in revenue…”

“…capital value of the rural estate exceeded £1 billion [$1.5 billion USD] for the first time…”

“…asset management saw revenue rise….to £25.7 million [$39.5 million USD]…”

The question is, if the Crown Estate is making so much money, and it’s supposedly meant to benefit the commoners of the United Kingdom (through the state) then why is the government of the United Kingdom imposing such drastic austerity measures upon those very commoners?

Just how much is the “fixed annual payment to the monarch”?  Under a new Sovereign Grant Act, beginning in 2012 the Queen can receive only 15% of the revenues.  How much was she getting before that?

But wait, there’s more!  Members of the royal family own other property companies, not beholden to the British government.  Here’s one; the Grosvenor Estate.

“The Grosvenor Estate is a portfolio of businesses, rural estates and other assets owned by trusts on behalf of Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor who is the 6th Duke of Westminster, and his family.”-Grosvenor website

However, unlike the incompetent British government (by the way the Queen is the literal boss of the House of Lords in the British government, she is not a figure head!), Grosvenor Estate is actually spending money to try and build up the economy in the English city of Liverpool.  The Duke’s Grosvenor Estate is spending the equivalent of $1.5 billion USD on a project called Liverpool One.

Again, the question is, what happened to all the money from the Queen’s Crown Estate that was supposed to be used for the people of Britain?

Business/Economics, Opinion, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Fast oil money, and a big wind farm, brings Hyper Inflation to Kanasas

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.”-Dorothy, MGM’s 1939 movie version of Wizard of Oz

Just as North Dakotans are dealing with hyperinflation thanks to their exploding economy, which in turn is no thanks to their oil boom, now Kansans are experiencing the same thing: “It’s like a gold rush. No one knew this little area was worth anything, and now all of a sudden there’s all kinds of business going on, and everyone wants a piece of it.”-Kathy Smith, motel owner who turns away 25 customers per day!

The oil industry has been busy in Kanasas, and the result is that in the past three years the cost of living there has tripled, at least.  Oh and don’t forget the new wind farm that was built.  The result is a population boom, caused by the wind farm and the oil industry, and that has caused prices, like rent and even food to skyrocket.

Sure there are lots of good paying oil jobs in Kansas now, but those oil workers are paying thousands of dollars in rent, for homes that were costing only hundreds to those living in them before the oil boom.

In fact, just as in North Dakota, the Kansans living in those rental homes were actually kicked out by the property owners, so that much much higher rents could be charged to the incoming oil workers: “We’re one of the ones forced out of our home. We lived in our home 11 years and four months, we received a certified letter in the mail saying we had one month to get out.  There was no where to go.  That month was a holy hell!”-Eileen Morris, Harper County resident

Here’s what a real estate “entrepreneur”, who caters to the oil industry, said about the housing situation: “My goal was to get housing available as quickly and efficiently as possible.”-Bobbie Oliver

To give you an idea just how high rents have gone, mobile homes (aka “modular” homes) that would normally rent for several hundreds of dollars per month, are renting for as much as $2,100 USD per month!

But what about those Kansans who aren’t working for the oil industry?  Here’s what a local county official in Kansas said about that: “…people are charging higher rent prices and so these guys that have jobs that are paying $12 to $15 an hour, it’s a hardship for them.”-Mike Lanie, Economic Development Harper County

Some of the oil companies, like Shell, are actually paying holding money on homes that were forcefully vacated, in order to ensure that their oil workers have a place to live when they get there.  So far no one’s said what’s happened to those Kansans who were kicked out of the homes they were living in.

And just like North Dakota, Kansas is seeing a skyrocketing crime rate.  According to Tracy Chance, Undersheriff of Harper County, the biggest increase so far has been car accidents and public intoxication.

Isn’t the promise of fast easy money wonderful?  Welcome to the false Christian run western Whore of Babylon oil industry!  Like Peter Voser, current CEO of Shell, who will be attending this year’s Bilderberg beast conference in Virginia!  Like Edward P. Cross, current president of the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association and a paid lobbyist for the oil industry!  Like Tom L. Ward, current CEO of Oklahoma based SandRidge Energy, which holds horizontal drilling rights in Kansas!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Chinese elites saving California companies, but a $50,000 mattress is proof the elites are totally out of touch with the rest of us!

“There are one million millionaires in China. I will have more than enough business if I sell to China’s millionaires alone!”-Earl Kluft, makes luxury mattresses

1 June 2012, Chinese media reporting that some business owners in the U.S. state of California are targeting the growing number of millionaires in the Communist country of China.

Back in September a California mattress maker decided to take a chance on selling his handmade mattresses in China. It paid off, big time.  Chinese elites are paying as much as $50,000 USD for one of Earl Kluft’s mattresses!  The result was that Kluft’s revenues for 2011 hit $50 million!

According to Boston Consulting Group, China is third for number of millionaires. Japan is number two, and, to prove the point of the Occupy and Tea Party movements, the United States is still number one for 1% elites.

However, that could soon change.  According to the Group M Knowledge-Hurun Wealth Report 2011, the number of Chinese millionaires is expanding at a rate of 10% per year.

Kluft markets his mattresses as heirloom mattresses, and they can be made from expensive materials such as cashmere, mohair, Joma wool and Talalay latex. Have any of us commoners ever thought of owning a mattress like that?  Chairman Mao is rolling in his tomb!

But forget handmade, now Kluft says high sales of his mattresses have forced him to dedicate two factories in the United States specifically to meet Chinese demand, and he says they’re still willing to pay the high handmade price: “The Chinese demand for American made luxury products is on the rise…..The Chinese consumers want them made in America. They don’t want them made in China.”