World’s richest see wealth share jump to 48%
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 19, 2015 - 7:27pm
LONDON — The richest one per cent of the population will own more than half the world’s wealth by 2016, Oxfam International said in a report released as the World Economic Forum begins in Davos, Switzerland.
Oxfam said the world’s richest people saw their share of global wealth jump to 48 per cent last year from 44 per cent in 2009. Rising inequality is holding back the fight against global poverty as the world’s biggest companies lobby the U.S. and European Union for beneficial tax changes at a time when average taxpayers are still paying the bill for the financial crisis, Oxfam said.
“Do we really want to live in a world where the 1 per cent own more than the rest of us combined?” Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam’s executive director, said in a statement. “The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering, and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast.”
While world leaders such as President Barack Obama and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde have talked about tackling extreme economic inequality “we are still waiting for many of them to walk the walk,” Byanyima said.
The health-care and financial services industries spent almost $900 million to lobby the U.S. government for favourable legislation in 2013, and more than $200 million was spent on lobbying in the EU, Oxfam said.
At the same time, one in nine people don’t have enough to eat and more than a billion people live on less than $1.25 a day, Oxfam said, ticking off statistics that paint a grim picture for all but the world’s richest.
The charity is calling for a crackdown on tax avoidance by corporations and rich people, as well as increased investment in health and education and equal pay legislation.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1264071-world%E2%80%99s-richest-see-wealth-share-jump-to-48
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CANADA HAVING AN ELECTION YEAR- 2015
well..here it is.... folks.... include Canada will ya... between an election with Justin Bieber running alongside Thomas the 4gotten Teddy Bear and PM Harper ...not gonna change.... Canada's screwed 2..... well here's an arse whopping country music song needing- style. BOTTOM LINE- this is going2b a hard $$$ year... and this will affect the political view entirely- Harper mayb a bastard...but he's Canada's bastard... and Canada is still the No. 2 fiscal sound country on the planet... 2nd. only 2 Germany. imho
https://www.facebook.com/OMGParadisePage/photos/a.229022883787475.58100.225933684096395/612695055420254/?type=1&theater
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------------------
Businessweek
|
-
33 minutes ago
|
The euro
is shaping to be the biggest casualty of Switzerland's decision to scrap its
currency cap. Soon after the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly ended its
three-year policy of keeping the franc weaker than 1.20 per euro, bearish bets
on Europe's common ...
-----------------
Disinflation, euro zone and China pose threat to global growth: Reuters poll
The last few months have been marked by rapidly-cooling inflation -- driven by a spectacular 60 percent fall in oil prices since June -- with consumer price rises in many cases far below stability targets set by central banks.
Indeed, euro zone inflation in December turned to overall price falls for the first time since 2009 and economists now see a 90 percent probability the European Central Bank will print money through government bond purchases, possibly as early as next week.
Read more at:
-----------------
Well this is from the Middle East gift wrapped 4 our USA
Quoting official data that tends to be under-reported, an
American think-tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, has
said that the manufacturing sector in the US has lost over a million jobs net
and over 15,000 manufacturers since the beginning the recession, which took
hold in 2008. Based on these numbers, the US only added one new manufacturing
job for every five that were lost. This points to the inescapable if
uncomfortable fact that much of the ‘growth’ in the USA since the recession’s
lows was just a cyclical recovery instead of real structural growth that will
improve long-term conditions.
Skid row America
16 January 2015
For the last half year, strident announcements made by
various sections of the government of the US have proclaimed that the American
economy has recovered, that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is
rising again, that jobs are being created, that new homes are being built and
bought, and that overall, life in the USA is improving.
Much as the American public would like to believe such
announcements — for the satisfaction of wants and needs influences behaviour a
great deal, and it is in catering to such behaviour that economics is reputed
to be useful — the evidence signals otherwise. It is a rosy scenario that has
been painted by a group of vested interests amongst which the US government and
its various agencies is only one.
Typically, and unsurprisingly, it is television new
channels which have repeated the claim, but which have neglected to mention
that on this ‘road to recovery’, wages in the US continue to decline, while an
ever-greater section of working-age adults have given up looking for work and
have dropped out of the labour force altogether.
Paradoxically in such times, Americans (and the people
they do business with overseas) search for positive economic news, so official
announcements hinting at an American economic turnaround, and news that
amplifies such suggestion, tend to proliferate. However, America faces a US$
458 billion trade deficit and the ‘recovery’ is going to do very little to
alter that imbalance.
Quoting official data that tends to be under-reported, an
American think-tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, has
said that the manufacturing sector in the US has lost over a million jobs net
and over 15,000 manufacturers since the beginning the recession, which took
hold in 2008. Based on these numbers, the US only added one new manufacturing
job for every five that were lost. This points to the inescapable if
uncomfortable fact that much of the ‘growth’ in the USA since the recession’s
lows was just a cyclical recovery instead of real structural growth that will
improve long-term conditions.
The Obama administration has been quick to make political
capital from the top-line data which shows that there has been four years of
‘growth’, that 520,000 jobs have been added in manufacturing in the last three
years. What the Obama administration does not mention is the 2.5 million jobs
lost between 2007 and 2009, and that by the end of 2013, real manufacturing
value added was still 3.2% below 2007 levels, even though GDP grew 5.6%.
The dominance of neo-classical economics is perhaps as
much to blame for this state of American affairs as the propensity of publics
to be fooled by selective statistics. As long as things appeared to be going
well — or were portrayed as going well — the majority of economists did not
consider the American condition (despite mounting government debt and a rising
trade deficit) a matter for concern. It is time the critical new evidence
presented from within the US was recognised and acted upon, in the country’s
counties if not in Washington.
For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook
at facebook.com/khaleejtimes, and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes
---------------------
www.breitbart.com/.../2015/.../record-92898000-americans-not-in-the-workforce/ - Cachedby Caroline May9 Jan 20150 ...
boomers hitting retirement age — the BLS
reported Friday that in December the unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent
and
reported Friday that in December the unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent
and
------------------
COMMENT: We've been saying.... this just cannot continue.... it's heartbreaking....and homeless youth.... and this is the USA... and Canada needs 2 clean up as well.... we deserve better and everyday people - our families made these countries strong and beautiful and free.... our troops died 4 our flags and our very life as we know it.... please God ... we just need political elected 2 work 2gether... seriously... and say how can we help instead of fill out these forms.... children need food, safety, warm bed, clean clothes and love... sigh.
-------------
www.breitbart.com/.../2015/.../record-92898000-americans-not-in-the-workforce/ - Cachedby Caroline May9 Jan 20150 ...
boomers hitting retirement age — the BLS
reported Friday that in December the unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent
and ...
reported Friday that in December the unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent
and ...
Record 92,898,000 Americans Not In The Workforce
-------------
Staggering Cost Of Illegal Aliens In America
Taxpayers Taken To The Cleaners
By Frosty Wooldridge 4-10-8
Illegal alien migration into the United States costs
American taxpayers $346 billion annually reported by the National Research
Council. While employers of illegal aliens rake-in billions of dollars, the US
citizens subsidize what may be called organized "Slavery in 21st Century
America."
While Congress facilitates outsourcing, insourcing and
offshoring of American jobs by the thousands weekly, that same Congress imports
182,000 legal immigrant monthly who need jobs. Another estimated 100,000
illegal aliens arrive each month without jobs. All those immigrants seize jobs
from American citizens at slave wages.
What happens to the American taxpayer?
"Immigrants are poorer, pay less tax, and are more
likely to receive public benefits than American citizens," said Edwin
Rubenstein, reporting on the National Research Council's new book: "The
New Americans: Economic, Demographics and Fiscal Effects of Immigration."
The Social Contract Winter 2007-08. <http://www.thesoicalcontract.com/>www.thesoicalcontract.com
The NRC found that the average immigrant household
receives $13,326 in federal welfare and pays $10,664.00 in federal taxes. Thus,
American taxpayers shell out $2,682.00 for each immigrant household.
In addition, the report showed that immigrants affect 15
different executive agencies of the U.S. government.
Earned Income Tax Credit-fraud is rampant and IRS does
little to verify existence of children. Clean Air and Climate Change-these
goals are unattainable as long as US population grows-driven by unending
immigration. Emergency medical treatment-US taxpayer money provides $250
million a year to help hospitals defray costs for illegal aliens. Bureau of
Land Management-the Interior Department spends $1 million to mitigate
environmental damage done by illegals crossing US southern border. Migrant
educational grants-intended to help states educate children of illegal workers.
More fraud from over-counting. Office of Foreign Labor Certification-immigrant
workers depress wages for US citizens resulting in declines in federal revenues
at $100 billion annually.
As shown on CBS with Katie Couric this past week, 300,000
pregnant Mexican women cross the border to birth their babies, known as 'anchor
babies', in American hospitals at an average cost of $6,000.00 per birth with
no complications. If the child suffers heart defects, Downs Syndrome, Autism or
any other problems, the costs jump to $500,000.00 with long term care into the
millions of dollars. All footed by the America taxpayer!
Not mentioned in Couric's report, that child enjoys free
breakfasts and lunches through 13 years of publicly funded education at an
average cost of $7,000.00 per year. Additionally, American taxpayers foot the
bill for all medical and housing assistance for the child and mother. More
hidden costs add up with ESL classes to teach the child English. Connecticut
alone suffers 120 languages in their schools while Colorado suffers over 40
foreign languages that cripple their classrooms.
The list of expenses paid for by American taxpayer soars
with time and numbers of illegal aliens. Additionally, legal immigrants sponsor
their relatives in chain migration and family reunification at US taxpayer
expense.
These immigrants take American jobs while they burn
American taxpayer funds for immigrant welfare. This all happens while the US
national debt approaches $10 trillion. Immigrants flood into this country while
jobs cascade out to China where we owe $1 trillion in T-bills as of 2008. Additionally,
we suffer a $700 billion annual trade deficit.
Once those illegal aliens hit this country, half of them
work off the books and do not pay $401 billion dollars annually according to
the 2005 Bear Stearns Report. Additionally, they form the second largest
underground economy in the world. Both legal and illegal immigrants send $80
billion back to their home countries in cash transfers on untaxed money.
When does it end?
Not any time soon! Who pays? You
do! Like the proverbial golden calf, the United States taxpayer bleeds to death
daily while our president and Congress fiddle, faddle and scratch their
generous rear ends while they facilitate the death of America's middle class.
Our politicians create the problems they campaign to
solve; but once in office, as John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
have proven with their time in the U.S. Senate-they work more against Americans
than for them. The proof in the aforementioned report is, as they say, "in
the pudding!"
Take action: www.thesocialcontract.com ; www.numbersusa.com
; www.fairus.org ;
www.firecoalition.com
; www.alipac.us ; www.capsweb.org ; www.vdare.com ; www.immigrationcounters.com
; www.proenglish.org
; www.patriotunion.org
; www.SafeAmericaAct.com;
www.cairco.org ; www.politicaltruthandfact.com
; www.patriotunion.org
; WWW.immigrationshumancost.org
;www.limitstogrowth.org
; www.balance.org;
www.carryingcapacity.org
"To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone
will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat
you last but eat you he will."
~ Ronald Reagan
------------------
#Asia's
big demons: debt, deflation, demographics. @andymukherjee70
takes them on all at once http://reut.rs/1Cu8dyd pic.twitter.com/KJU9Jxs25V
-----------
U.S. consumer prices post biggest drop in six years
WASHINGTON - U.S. consumer prices recorded their biggest
decline in six years in December and a gauge of underlying inflation failed to
rise, which could make the Federal Reserve more cautious about raising interest
rates.
-------------
Bitcoin is latest victim of disinflation
By Edward Hadas-January 16, 2015
------------
Foreigners' net selling of Japan stocks biggest in 5
months
TOKYO, Jan 16 - Foreign investors' net selling of
Japanese stocks during the last week was the biggest in five months as their
risk appetite was dampened by concerns about weak oil prices and the global
economy, exchange data showed on Friday. Foreigners' net selling of Japanese
cash stocks was 434.90 billion yen ($3.73 billion) during Jan. 5-9, according
to data released by the Tokyo Stock Exchange. "Investors stayed risk
averse last week," said Shingo Kumazawa, an analyst at
------------
Hong Kong shares fall as global economy worries spread
Jan 16 - Hong Kong shares drifted downward on Friday as
losses on Wall Street spread to Asia.
-------------------
nature vs environmental energy - climate change is going 2b a real
baaaaaaastard isn't
Plans to build a solar farm on protected wildlife-rich
grassland have been criticised
---------------
Swiss action ensnares brokers worldwide
Scrapping of currency ceiling hits FXCM, Excel Markets
and Alpari
---------
Amazon-Luxembourg tax deal laid bare
Brussels believes favourable treatment amounted to an
illicit state subsidy
------------
A fix for finance that's radical & ingenious. Sadly,
it's also utopian. @DominicElliott reviews "The End of Banking" http://reut.rs/1sGB9mo
this will be a good read
OUT OF THE SHADOWS-
The End of Banking
--------------------
Apple, Google settle U.S. poaching lawsuit for $415
million
-------------
BP faces up to $13.7bn penalty for spill
Penalty is $4bn less than highest amount sought by US
government
-------------
hmmmmm let's see over 27 illegal Mexicans in USA whilst
USA has over 100 million unemployed.... hmmmm... I get it- Who the hell
wouldn't
Harper postpones Three Amigos summit amid chilly
relations with U.S. and Mexico
----------
CHECK OUT THIS BRILLIANT ARTICLE FROM A YOUNGBLOOD:
Quote: Let’s state this clearly: If someone believes it
is okay to kill another because of a cartoon, — an opinion, for that matter —
that person is wrong. The same goes for a book. Or a sentence.
These are in two completely non-overlapping categories at
play: speech and violence. Even if you believe there is speech that deserves
punishment or reprisal, actions from these categories should never cross over
their boundaries. Speech should be responded to with more speech — that’s all
there is to it.
If the opinion of another upsets you so much that you
feel an unquenchable rage, your response should be to pen the most scathing,
bile and vitriol-filled letter of protest imaginable.
You should make cartoons of your own, blasting those who
dared offend you. You should gather other writers and artists, create a
magazine of your own, put it on the offending artists’ doorsteps and say,
“Look, here, this is what we think of you. How dare you.”
ON CHARLIE...
It’s Not About Being Politically Correct: Gen-Y Needs To
Recognize Wrong
Nick Simmons Nick
Simmons in Generation Y
Twitter is bursting with expressions of solidarity for
Charlie Hebdo. But, laced within is a disturbing trend. Young people, in an
attempt to be progressive, are trying to see both sides of the issue.
Generally, there are two sides to an issue that are, if
not equally valid, equally worthy of at least a chin scratch. The world is not
black-and-white. We know this.
The crux of the issue here is whether or not it is ever
acceptable to kill someone because what he or she says offends you.
There is a charge by progressive, smart, young people
that says condemning the men who murdered the 12 victims in France outright as
“evil” is stifling any conversation as to why they did what they did. They say
it’s simplistic.
They say we must be progressive; we must understand their
motives, and we must think long and hard about whether their anger was, in any
way, understandable, even if we don’t agree with them. This is what progressive
thought is all about, and I’m 99 percent onboard.
But, then, they go on; they say that because someone was
upset enough to kill, we should take the potential reasoning as to why
seriously and take steps to protect ourselves — in our speech — so as to not
provoke violence.
They say things like, “It’s silly that they didn’t expect
a backlash — there’s always a risk. We should look at why they’re being
violent. We should look at Islamophobia, unjust wars and forced
westernization.”
This, I believe, is unacceptable and screams of
blackmail. Though our goal may be cultural understanding, if we alter our
speech in any way because we fear someone may get so offended that he or she
may feel the need to kill us, we are submitting to terms outlined in a ransom
note.
We are acquiescing to a threat while simultaneously
pretending it’s a gesture of sensitivity.
We do, actually, know why they did it, and it’s not
because of Islamophobia or cultural oppression. There have been, of course,
moments when an uprising has transpired for similar reasons. But, that’s not
the discussion at hand.
The reason for the attack on Charlie Hebdo was repeated
and repeated and repeated. The very same magazine was firebombed before this
incident, and for the same reason: Charlie Hebdo depicted and mocked something
the gunmen found to be sacred.
We all understand why — it’s very clear why. The point is
this “why” is not acceptable.
There is a restlessness of the issue at the hearts of
people who wrestle with the urge to give every perspective equal time.
As Sam Harris once said of the White House in response to
the “Innocence of Muslims” embassy fiasco, these people “[disavow] the
offending speech while claiming to protect free speech in principle. It may
seem a small detail, given the heat of the moment — but so is a quivering lip.”
There are smart people saying things like, “Well, no one
should be silenced per se… but maybe they should have been more sensitive.”
The blackmail is there, under a very thin layer of
implication: “Look, we’re making you a great offer. All you have to do is be a
little more ‘sensitive’ and you won’t have to look over your shoulder for men
with guns.” No. A thousand times, no.
Let’s state this clearly: If someone believes it is okay
to kill another because of a cartoon, — an opinion, for that matter — that
person is wrong. The same goes for a book. Or a sentence.
These are in two completely non-overlapping categories at
play: speech and violence. Even if you believe there is speech that deserves
punishment or reprisal, actions from these categories should never cross over
their boundaries. Speech should be responded to with more speech — that’s all
there is to it.
If the opinion of another upsets you so much that you
feel an unquenchable rage, your response should be to pen the most scathing,
bile and vitriol-filled letter of protest imaginable.
You should make cartoons of your own, blasting those who
dared offend you. You should gather other writers and artists, create a
magazine of your own, put it on the offending artists’ doorsteps and say,
“Look, here, this is what we think of you. How dare you.”
But, for people to say it is somehow understandable that,
in place of that kind of response, these people got bullets and blood — that
the violent offense simply comes with the territory of being a cartoonist — is
not a middle ground that deserves our time.
Remember, I’m not talking about Islam, the Quran or any
other book, faith or general ideology. I’m talking about one, specific idea —
the idea that the penalty for openly mocking a person or a figure or an
ideology can ever be death.
The moment you pick up a gun instead of a pen, you have
lost the argument. You will win the war of flesh, surely. But, that thing you
care about — the idea you defended — is lost. You lose the war of ideas when
you stop using ideas as your artillery. Your idea is exposed as weak because it
required an armed guard to defend it.
Let us, sadly, use that old, clichéd benchmark of
indefensible evil: In the same way it really was okay to condemn the bad ideas
of Nazism, it really is okay to condemn the bad idea of sacred cows and violent
reprisal. It is not anti-progress, racist, ethnocentric or anything else to
make this claim definitively.
To young people whose intentions are often simply to
avoid repeating the tragic missteps or perspectives of our parents’ parents
throughout history, this is not the time to look for such nuance. It is a good
thing to try and understand those who would do you violence.
And, there are places where pure empathy is important. We
should look harder at our wars, foreign policy, leaders, personal prejudices,
heteronormativity, bigotry, patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia,
Islamophobia, tribalism and racism. These are issues that contain nuance and
require open and rigorous discourse and empathy.
But, balanced discourse is exactly what is at stake here.
If free speech succumbs to blackmail, these other dominos
will fall, as well, because there will be a subset of the population that
cannot speak. We need not muddy these specific waters to make them seem deep.
We need not try to look for a defensible position on the side of those who
killed the Charlie Hebdo employees and police officials.
It is a fallacy that just because there are two sides to
an issue, both sides are equally valid.
If, as Jon Stewart said, we are on “team civilization,”
we can say the side that picks up guns and kills people in response to a
cartoon is wrong, no matter what or whom the cartoon depicts.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this
article are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of Elite
Daily.
--------------
An emergency meeting is held by foreign ministers of the
Arab League in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 15, 2015. Arab foreign ministers met on
Thursday in Egypt's capital for an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League to
discuss several regional issues
------------
WEF summit to look for answers to major global challenges
English.news.cn
2015-01-14 23:21:01
GENEVA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The World Economic Forum
(WEF) Annual Meeting 2015 scheduled from Jan. 21 to 24 in Davos of Switzerland
would serve as a platform looking for solutions to major challenges faced by
the world, said the organization on Wednesday.
Over 2,500 participants from more than 140 countries
representing business, government, international organizations, academia, civil
society and the media are expected to participate in this year's annual
gathering, the WEF said.
The upcoming meeting is to be framed around 10 major
global challenges, namely: environment and resource scarcity, employment skills
and human capital, gender parity, long-term investing, infrastructure and
development, food security and agriculture, international trade and investment,
the future of the internet, global crime and anti-corruption, social inclusion,
and the future of financial systems.
Addressing a pre-event press conference, Klaus Schwab,
founder and executive chairman of WEF, said 2015 would be a
"critical" year, being "a year where we are at a
crossroads."
"The world has changed substantially. We are in a
post-crisis world. That is the reason why we have chosen the 'New Global
Context' as this year's theme," said Schwab.
Schwab shared his expectations for the annual meeting,
which included reaching an understanding of the new context and searching for
solutions in such a framework, making contributions to confidence-building
efforts for the conflict areas, and achieving progress in addressing major
global challenges.
According to the WEF, over 40 heads of state and
governments are expected to be at the four-day meeting where participants can
attend the 280 sessions and workshops and exchange opinions on a range of
issues.
Jennifer Blanke, chief economist with WEF, explained to
Xinhua about this year's theme.
"We have seen that there is a rise in terms of
conflict, a lack of trust in many cases. We felt that it is very important this
year to step back, (to think) what is different about this new global context,
how can we actually restore trust in the global economic and political system,
so we can really expect in future decades a more collaborative
environment," said Blanke.
She highlighted that one of the important issues for this
year's meeting is to bring in the topic of security for the first time.
"We realize that there is a huge interplay between
the economic system and the geopolitical system. It is very important for
experts in both areas to understand each other very well, so we can come up
with better solutions," said Blanke.
---------------
Approximately 1 Million Unemployed Childless Adults Will
Lose SNAP Benefits in ... January 5, 2015 .... Most of these waivers, however, expire
after 2015. ... in effect in areas with about 30 percent of the U.S. population; the
rest of the country ...
-----------------------
Unemployed adults without children will lose food
assistance. ... January 6, 2015. Print · Comments. Photo Credit: Robert Kneshcke/Shutterstock. One million
of the nation's poorest people will be cut from the federal Supplemental
Nutrition ...
------------------
AND..
What about Canada then....
COMMENT: It's not just the US...
The
UK National Lottery has had its worst six months of sales since its launch in
1994, operator Camelot reported today.
Revenue
from the various Lottery games slumped to almost £2.3 billion in the period to
September 28, down 5.2% on the same time last year.
USA
Revenue from
the various Lottery games slumped to almost £2.3 billion in the period to
September 28, down 5.2% on the same time last year.
USA LOTTERY SALES PLUNGING 2015
The US Economy Is So Bad... Even Lottery Sales Are
Collapsing
Tyler Durden's picture
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/14/2015 16:33 -0500
For what appears to be the first time on record,
Powerball Lottery Sales declined year-over-year. As the following slides show,
lottery sales declined 19% in FY14 vs FY13 and even more stunningly reflective
of a nation whose disposable income (and hope) is in such short supply, sales
in the first half of FY15 are down 40% from the first of FY14. As LaFleurs
concludes, this will make it very challenging for most Lotteries to manage
their budgets...
COMMENT:
When Lotterys started, the economy was in pretty good
shape, and most Amercians never had the chance to gamble at the local level,
and it was also considered a moral weakness in a lot of areas, so it started
off slow..."its for the Children"!
sales pitch got a lot of people to put aside their moral beliefs as an
excuse...then came scratchoffs, now I see people pissing away 50-100 dollars
sitting out in their cars scratching furiously away at the Quickymart, taking
the 'winning' tickets back inside, and trading them in for more...
Then a few Indian casinos popped up within a 50 mile
radius, furthur wringing out the weak hands, then the economy took a shit...so
people started selling at the 'cash for gold' places to get their gambling
money...then Craigslist came on the scene, and people started selling all sorts
of shit to get money to gamble with, except nobody had any disposable income
anymore...All the money that USED to be spent at Garage Sales, small shops and
restaurants etc...and thats how I lost my ass on my Beanie Baby investment...
COMMENT:
You've got schmucks spending $50 a week on Lotto when
they're making minimum wage.... when a
bigger schmuck spending $100 a week wins then the others think 'I'm not
spending enough' They know how to 'sell
the dream'.
Problem is that with the cost of food going up and wages
going down people don't HAVE any 'disposable income' left....
The slots at places like Yonkers Raceway in NY are full
of seniors losing their social security checks... - and they think MORE casinos
are going to help?
--------------
and...
QUOTE:
"China
is still growing at a robust pace but continues on a path of gradual
deceleration,” the World Bank said in its 2015 forecast released
late Tuesday, which lowered its global growth forecast from 3.4 percent to 3
percent for the year. Growth in emerging-market nations slipped, pointing to a
slowdown in productivity and dampened growth prospects, the report noted.
Copper
prices fell sharply on Wednesday to their lowest since 2009 amid an Asian
sell-off that drove the metal’s March delivery price to $2.496 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The benchmark price
of iron ore, a key ingredient in the production of steel, was close to its
five-year low on Wednesday, at $68.50 a ton. Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global
oil price, fell 12 cents to $45.77 a barrel in London while U.S. oil dropped 52
cents to $46.07.
“It
would be wrong to dismiss the possibility that the acceleration in the decline
in copper prices is an indication of a sharper downturn in the global economy
and especially in China,” Julian Jessop, chief global economist for Capital
Economics, said in a Wednesday note to investors, signaling that demand for
these raw materials might also be declining in the world’s second-largest
economy.
Iron Ore, Copper, Oil Prices: Is This The Beginning Of A
Global Slowdown, Or Just A Supply Glut?
and...
The oil market tumbled on Thursday (Jan 15) after OPEC
said it produced more oil in December than its limit, despite sharply falling
prices, and lowered its global demand outlook for its crude.
------------
The euro fell sharply against the dollar on Thursday (Jan
15) after Switzerland surprised investors by removing its currency's floor
against the euro, sending the Swiss franc soaring.
-----------
U.S. stocks plunge into red territory after volatile
trading
EW YORK, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks slashed big
early gains to turn lower Tuesday despite upbeat data, extending losses for a
third straight day.
Buoyed by the good start of the fourth-quarter earnings
season, the market surged in the morning session, with the Dow soaring as much
as 282 points, before the three benchmark indices dived into negative territory
in the afternoon trading and ended mildly lower, as falling oil prices
continued to haunt the market.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 27.16
points, or 0.15 percent, to 17,613.68. The S&P 500 slipped 5.23 points, or
0.26 percent, to 2,023.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 3.21 points,
or 0.07 percent, to 4,661.50.
Aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. released strong quarterly
results after Monday's closing bell to unofficially kick off the earnings
season.
------------------
China's consumer prices grew 2 percent in 2014 from one
year earlier, well below the government's 3.5-percent target set for the year,
official data showed on January 9.
-----------------
Chinese Government Abolishes Rare Earth Export Quotas
15 January 2015
http://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/bridges/news/chinese-government-abolishes-rare-earth-export-quotas
------------
China
has policy buffers to sustain growth: World Bank
China Daily, January 15, 2015
China
has adequate policy buffers to arrest steep falls in economic growth and to
maintain domestic demand this year, amid bleak prospects for the global
economy, said a report published by the World Bank on Wednesday.
The
bank's biannual Global Economic Prospects report estimates China's GDP growth
to slow to 7.1 percent this year from 7.4 percent in 2014, with the downtrend
set to continue till 2017 with 6.9 percent growth.
"China
is undergoing a carefully managed slowdown," the report said.
The
multilateral organization believes that China's public debt, which is less than
60 percent of the GDP, can provide fiscal space to employ stimulus against the
slowdown. "It also provides some room to bail out banks if nonperforming
loans were to rise sharply."
Fiscal
space refers to the flexibility of a government in its spending choices, and,
more generally, to the financial well-being of a government.
The
World Bank said there is very little probability of a sharp decline in China's
growth. If such an event were to happen, it would trigger a disorderly
unwinding of financial vulnerabilities and have considerable implications for
the global economy, it said.
China's
growth is still impressive, and will account for more than one-third of the
global growth in 2015, said Bert Hofman, country director for the World Bank in
China.
"Despite
the lackluster recovery in high-income countries, China's economy will still
benefit from growing external demand and lower oil prices."
The
National Bureau of Statistics is expected to release the full-year GDP for 2014
on Jan 20, with most economists anticipating the full-year number to be around
7.3 to 7.4 percent, the first time that China's growth rate would miss the
official target, which was 7.5 percent.
--------------------
We need 2 look at new ways 2 do things Canada- and frankly our Environment Record - with a population of only 36 million people with the 2nd largest country in the world is not bad....
we know we have 2 change our ways globally.... now environmentalists are arguing that nature is being brutalized by wind farms, etc.- and all the things they preached 4 over the years...and we have all been quietly changing as the silent Majority. TRUTH IS- come on pls. make up ur minds- the world has 2 change....and we are... BUT people matter- humanity matters... and let's make sure that we, the people, own these things - not big business or government... eh? imho
PHOTO 1- ATLANTIC OCEAN- use wind instead of oil rigs
PHOTO 2 : IRELAND- nature vs environment energy- Plans to build a solar farm on protected wildlife-rich grassland have been criticisedPANews
PHOTO 3: - What we stand 2 lose- Canada has best drinking water and natural beauty left in the world- let's not ruin it- the World's last Playground of Nature
PHOTO 4: Mathew Reichertz uses the narrative form of the comic book for his exhibit, Garbage, the story of an encounter between himself and his neighbours Jan. 9, 8 p.m., at the Saint Mary's University Art Gallery
PHOTO 5- The global reality... Canada is doing very very well environment wise.... 2nd largest country in the world WITH ONLY 36 MILLION PEOPLE. Have a great weekend folks?
PHOTO 1- ATLANTIC OCEAN- use wind instead of oil rigs
PHOTO 2 : IRELAND- nature vs environment energy- Plans to build a solar farm on protected wildlife-rich grassland have been criticisedPANews
PHOTO 3: - What we stand 2 lose- Canada has best drinking water and natural beauty left in the world- let's not ruin it- the World's last Playground of Nature
PHOTO 4: Mathew Reichertz uses the narrative form of the comic book for his exhibit, Garbage, the story of an encounter between himself and his neighbours Jan. 9, 8 p.m., at the Saint Mary's University Art Gallery
PHOTO 5- The global reality... Canada is doing very very well environment wise.... 2nd largest country in the world WITH ONLY 36 MILLION PEOPLE. Have a great weekend folks?
--------------
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not."
— Dr. Seuss, from The Lorax
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--------------
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not."
— Dr. Seuss, from The Lorax
--------------
Canada tops G8 countries in social, environmental progress, global ranking shows
TAVIA GRANT THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Last updated Thursday, Apr. 03 2014, 5:51 AM EDT
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canada-tops-g8-countries-in-social-environmental-progress-global-ranking-shows/article17786468/?service=mobile
-----------------
...
don't u think we need 2 choose between war and actual humanity??? NATO WAS 2B disbanded after Afghanistan and it's $$$billions 2 pay 4 humanity and climate and jobs 4 youth of this world...
%2B(1).png)
One of the best speeches ever..
February 6, 2012
Reagan 101
Today is President Ronald Reagan's 101st birthday. Our nation is a far different place than it was during the Renaissance years of the Reagan Administration. In this critical election year it would be wise for our elected leaders, candidates for office and our fellow citizens to revisit the simple wisdom and uncommon vision of Ronald Reagan.
To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last--but eat you he will.There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.The problem is not that the people are taxed too little. The problem is that the government spends too much.If the big spenders get their way they'll charge everything on your taxpayers express card, and believe me they never leave home without it.Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.Government does not solve problems it subsidizes them.The government's view of the economy can be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving subsidize it.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth.Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
Many of us find ourselves telling the younger generation about what America used to be like. Our president believed in American Exceptionalism and bowed to no foreign leader, our president understood that our nation was "the last best hope of man on earth," our president did not pander to our enemies and betray our allies and our president made us proud to be American citizens. We were governed by the rule of law, we were protected by our constitution and the free market created jobs and opportunities for advancement. Ronald Reagan warned us.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on from them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.
America has reached a turning point, what sort of country will we leave behind? Have we done all that could be done?
February 6, 2012
Today is President Ronald Reagan's 101st birthday. Our nation is a far different place than it was during the Renaissance years of the Reagan Administration. In this critical election year it would be wise for our elected leaders, candidates for office and our fellow citizens to revisit the simple wisdom and uncommon vision of Ronald Reagan.
To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last--but eat you he will.There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.The problem is not that the people are taxed too little. The problem is that the government spends too much.If the big spenders get their way they'll charge everything on your taxpayers express card, and believe me they never leave home without it.Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.Government does not solve problems it subsidizes them.The government's view of the economy can be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving subsidize it.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth.Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
Many of us find ourselves telling the younger generation about what America used to be like. Our president believed in American Exceptionalism and bowed to no foreign leader, our president understood that our nation was "the last best hope of man on earth," our president did not pander to our enemies and betray our allies and our president made us proud to be American citizens. We were governed by the rule of law, we were protected by our constitution and the free market created jobs and opportunities for advancement. Ronald Reagan warned us.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on from them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.
America has reached a turning point, what sort of country will we leave behind? Have we done all that could be done?
February 6, 2012
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