22 senators propose lockbox for transportation funds
February 3, 2012
After Gov. Martin O’Malley proposed a 6% sales tax on gas to pay for infrastructure projects, Sen. Rob Garagiola and 21 other senators moved to make the tax more salable with a proposed constitutional amendment to safeguard the Maryland Transportation Trust Fund, which governors have repeatedly raided to balance the general fund budget.
“In recent years, the Transportation Trust Fund has been depleted,” Garagiola, D-Montgomery, said in an e-mail. “This legislation proposes a constitutional amendment to create a firewall for current and future Transportation Trust Fund monies. It is critical that we act now to address our infrastructure needs.”
The amendment aims to stop tran...
Haircut Negotiations – Hedge Funds Bet On Profits From Greek Debt Talks
January 26, 2012
The negotiations over the Greek debt haircut are becoming increasingly suspenseful, with euro-zone finance ministers and the IMF pushing investors to accept greater losses. Hedge funds, more than any others, stand to profit, and are betting that the voluntary debt rescheduling will fail.
Who will bleed for Greece? For weeks, private creditors like banks and insurers have been trying to negotiate a debt rescheduling with the country without success. Even when they seem close to agreement, it remains unclear if all creditors are on board. In particular, hedge funds that own Greek bonds could have a significant interest in ignoring the results of the negotiations, instead preferring to focus on...
Oil prices climb after EU embargo on Iran
January 23, 2012
Oil prices rose on Monday, January 23 after the European Union agreed to slap an embargo against Iran’s crude exports, in a move aimed at stopping the key oil producer from funding its disputed nuclear programme.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March climbed 56 cents to $110.42 a barrel in early London deals.
New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for March, edged up five cents to $98.38 a barrel, according to AFP.
Following morning talks in Brussels between ambassadors of the 27 EU nations, a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said: “There is a political agreement on an oil embargo.”
World economy will lose momentum in 2012 – polls
January 20, 2012
The world economy will lose momentum in 2012 but it will keep moving in the right direction, according to Reuters polls of around 600 economists who said crisis-hit Europe would drag on global growth.
Asian economies will again power the expansion of the world economy this year, but with relatively subdued performances. The United States, meanwhile, should continue to contribute modest growth that will easily outpace its recession-hit European peers. Brazil will be one of the few big economies that will pick up steam this year, outshining slower Latin American stablemates Mexico and Argentina.
A Reuters poll that covers all of the top 20 developed and emerging econom...
Audi overcomes Mercedes Benz in global sales
January 13, 2012
Audi AG overtook Daimler AG’sMercedes-Benz as the world’s second biggest premium-car brand after BMW AG in 2011 as it became the latest German luxury auto company to report record sales on booming demand in China and the U.S.
Audi, a unit of Volkswagen AG, said Monday it sold about 1,302,650 cars last year, beating by more than 210,200 cars its previous record set in 2010. It cited demand for its full-size models as a significant factor behind the rise.
China became Audi’s biggest single market for the first time as sales jumped 37% to 313,036, it said in a statement. Sales in the U.S. rose 16%. They climbed 12% in Europe.
Mercedes-Benz said last week that its sales rose 8% to 1,260,912 cars, ...
Egypt To Resume Talks With IMF Over Emergency $3 Billion Credit Facility
January 12, 2012
Egypt’s interim government is to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over an emergency $3 billion (£2 billion) credit facility amid signs of a deepening crisis in its hard-hit economy.
The economic problems in Egypt – where 40% of people live on or below the poverty line – has become one of the biggest problems facing the country a year after the start of the popular uprising that pushed the former president Hosni Mubarak from power.
Almost a year of political uncertainty – including three cabinet reshuffles, a moveable timetable for transition to civilian rule and an insistence that any financial assistance should be unconditional – have followed, leading to fears that the ...
What Investment Options are Available in the Canadian Market?
January 9, 2012
The Canadian stock market offers plenty of opportunities for individual investors. Here is some information and news about them.
Even though it is smaller than the American stock exchange, the Canadian stock market has some interesting investment opportunities that may be worth adding to the portfolio of some investors. While it is subject to the same potential volatility as the American stock exchange, recent news reports suggest that the Canadian market is starting to gain some ground after unemployment claims in the United States have decreased.
A Business Week report published on December 22nd 2011 shows advancement for the past few days in some of Canada’s biggest players. Royal Bank of Canada, which is the country’s biggest lender in terms of assets, has risen by 3.9 percent. Potash Co...
Soros: euro collapse repercussions catastrophic
January 9, 2012
A collapse of the euro and break-up of the European Union would have catastrophic consequences for the global financial system, billionaire investor George Soros was quoted as saying.
“Today, the euro is potentially endangering the political cohesion of the European Union,” the Business Line newspaper cited Soros as saying in the south Indian city of Hyderabad.
“If the common currency were to break down, it will lead to the break up of the European Union itself. And this will be catastrophic not only for Europe but also for the global financial system.” The euro zone crisis is “more serious and more threatening than the crash of 2008,” the Economic Times report...
Higher state borrowing proposed over Franchot’s objection
January 3, 2012
A state debt committee voted to increase Maryland’s borrowing by $150 million next year to almost $1.1 billion, and the decision left Comptroller Peter Franchot steaming.
“One week we are taking in less money, and the next week we are spending more,” Franchot said in an interview, referring to a write down of estimated revenues Dec. 9. “We are doubling down with a vote on a failed economic model” – that higher taxes, more spending and more debt can reduce unemployment.
Increasing the amount of bonds issued is in line with last Thursday’s recommendations of the legislature’s Spending Affordability Committee to increase capital debt to spend on infrastructure pro...
The Only Republican Who Understands The Real Issues
December 29, 2011
President Obama has already shown his unwillingness to do the things we must do to fix our country, and our two party system means the only viable alternative will likely come from the Republican Party. Unfortunately, all of the big names in the Republican primaries are either ignoring the big issues, or are on the wrong side of them.
The U.S. currently has a massive trade deficit that is costing American jobs, but this has scarcely been mentioned in the debates. This deficit is fueled by our misguided free trade policies, but the mainstream candidates are not talking about getting out of the free trade agreements that are shipping our jobs overseas. Many of...
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