Bloomberg:
- Boehner Urges Obama to ‘Get Serious’ About Cliff Talks. House Speaker John Boehner said President Barack Obama must “get serious” about the fiscal cliff while the speaker remains “hopeful” about talks aimed at averting more than $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases. Boehner, an Ohio Republican, told reporters today in Washington that there has been no substantial progress in talks between the White House and congressional leaders in the past few weeks. “This is a moment for adult leadership,” he said. “Despite the claims that the president supports a balanced approach, the Democrats have yet to get serious about real spending cuts,” Boehner said. Unless there is a “serious” discussion of spending cuts, “there is a real danger of going off the fiscal cliff,” he said.
- Finland Rejects Speculation of New Aid to Greece. Speculation on whether Greece needs another bailout is premature and Europe needs to wait and see whether measures agreed to date help the nation regain control of its debt, Finland’s Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said. “The decisions taken now are the correct ones to support Greece in its extremely difficult situation,” Katainen said in an interview in Helsinki today. “We are committed to the deal by the finance ministers. There’s no point in conjecturing on what that might mean in the future.”
- Spain Cash-Starved States Nudge Rajoy Toward Rescue: Euro Credit. Spain’s regions are adding to pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to seek a European bailout as the funding needs of the country’s cash-strapped states swamp government expectations. Nine of the 17 states have already requested support worth 93 percent of Spain’s 18 billion-euro ($23 billion) regional rescue fund, known as FLA. While the 10-year Spanish bond yield has fallen 251 basis points from a euro-era record of 7.75 percent on July 25, most of the states remain shut out of markets, forcing the government to weigh the cost of extending the rescue facility for another year.
- German Unemployment Rose for an Eighth Month in November. German unemployment climbed for an eighth straight month in November as Europe’s debt crisis curbed company investment and economic growth. The number of people without a job increased a seasonally adjusted 5,000 to 2.94 million, the Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg said today. Economists forecast a gain of 16,000, the median of 37 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey shows.
- King Signals U.K. Banks Need More Capital Against Losses. Bank of England Governor Mervyn King signaled U.K. banks may need to build up the capital they hold against potential losses, and asked regulators to report back by March on how lenders will comply.
- China Stocks Drop for Fourth Day as Brokerages Fall. Sinolink Securities Co. plunged by the 10 percent daily limit and Citic Securities Co., the nation’s largest brokerage by value, headed for its biggest loss in three months. The regulator is talking with brokerages about cutting commissions on transactions by 20 percent, the 21st Century Business Herald reported. Liquor maker Luzhou Laojiao Co. led gains by consumer staples companies, the worst performers this month. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) dropped 0.5 percent to 1,963.49 at the close, erasing a gain of as much as 0.4 percent. “Volumes have been very weak in the market and the brokerages get hit the most because this means business will suffer,” said Deng Wenyuan, an analyst at Soochow Securities Co., by phone today in Suzhou. “There’s little confidence in the market.”
- China’s Push for Stability Undermines Law, Sociologist Says. The Chinese government’s emphasis on maintaining stability has undermined rule of law in the country, leading local officials to “do evil,” Tsinghua University Professor Sun Liping said at a conference in Beijing today. China has been moving away from the rule of law in the last couple of years as local officials push to enforce limits on childbirth and reach tax collection quotas, Sun, 57, one of the country’s best-known social scientists, told the Caijing Annual Conference in Beijing. The attitude of local officials on the government’s one- child policy is “I just don’t want to see newborn babies, and I don’t care whatever you do to ensure the baby is not delivered,” Sun said.
- U.S. Retailers’ Sales Miss Estimates After Sandy. U.S. retailers posted November same-store sales that trailed analysts’ estimates as superstorm Sandy depressed traffic early in the month, overwhelming gains from the start of holiday shopping. Sales at Macy’s Inc. (M), the second-biggest U.S. department- store company, fell 0.7 percent, compared with the average projection for a 2.5 percent gain from analysts surveyed by researcher Retail Metrics Inc. Target Corp. (TGT), the second-largest U.S. discount chain, posted a 1 percent decline in same-store sales, missing the estimate for a 2.1 percent increase. Same-store sales for the more than 20 companies tracked by Swampscott, Massachusetts-based Retail Metrics rose 1.6 percent, excluding drugstores, trailing the estimate for a 3.5 percent gain, the firm said today.
- Tiffany(TIF) Cuts Full-Year Profit Forecast, Earnings Missed. Tiffany & Co., the world’s second- largest luxury jewelry retailer, cut its annual profit forecast for the third time this year after higher diamond costs ate into margins and customers curbed spending in weak economies. Tiffany’s gross margin, a key measure of profitability, shrank more than analysts anticipated last quarter as precious- metals costs also increased. Sales, which also trailed the average projection, were “weak,” said Liz Dunn, an analyst with Macquarie Group Ltd. in New York, who rates the shares neutral, the equivalent of hold. The shares dropped 7.9 percent to $58.72 at 9:34 a.m. in New York, the biggest intraday decline since May 24.
- Jobless Claims in U.S. Decrease as Sandy Effect Dissipates. Applications for jobless benefits decreased by 23,000 to 393,000 in the week ended Nov. 24, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 390,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
- Pending Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Rose 5.2% in October. The index of pending home resales climbed 5.2 percent, exceeding the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists, to 104.8 after a revised 0.4 percent gain in September, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast in the Bloomberg survey called for a 1 percent gain.
- Student Loans Go Unpaid, Burden U.S. Economy: Chart of the Day.
CNBC:
- Is Puerto Rico the Greece of the Caribbean?
- What Empty Nest? Weak Economy Means Living at Home.
- Fiscal Cliff’ Could Put Millions of Taxpayers Into ‘AMT Shock’. One of the key questions lurking in the "fiscal cliff" talks — though well below the public's radar — is what happens to the alternative minimum tax, or AMT.
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
Seeking Alpha:
Seeking Alpha:
The Blaze:
Reuters:- Fed's Fisher presses for clearer fiscal outlook. Fisher said that a temporary fix would not help employment. Fisher said the Fed would tighten monetary policy when needed but "we are not there yet". Fisher, who is a critic of easy Fed policy, also said he would like the central bank to define how far it is willing to go with its monetary stimulus. "I personally advocate that we do it sooner," he said. Asked when the United States would see a substantial improvement in employment, Fisher said: "Only when we will get clear signals from the fiscal authorities." "You can't expect somebody to hire somebody ... until you have confidence you will get a return on the cost." "From a monetary standpoint, we have given the fuel ... now it's up to the private sector to engage. And it won't happen until we get clarity on the fiscal side."
- Egypt opposition says wider strikes possible against Mursi. An alliance of Egyptian opposition groups pledged on Thursday to keep up protests against President Mohammed Mursi and said broader civil disobedience was possible to fight what it described as an attempt to "kidnap Egypt from its people".
- U.S. gives Iran until March to cooperate with IAEA. The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the U.N. Security Council.
- Windows PC retail sales fall after Windows 8 - NPD. Consumer sales of Windows-powered personal computers fell 21 percent overall last month, according to a leading retail research firm, indicating a lackluster debut for Microsoft Corp's Windows 8 operating system, which many in the industry had hoped would revive slack PC sales. Since the launch of Windows 8 on Oct. 26, Windows laptop sales are down 24 percent, while desktop sales are down 9 percent compared with the same period last year, said NPD Group, which tracks computer sales weekly using data supplied by retailers.
- Year-end US fiscal deal must include debt limit hike-Reid. An increase in the U.S. debt limit must be part of any deal to resolve the looming "fiscal cliff" of year-end tax hikes and spending cuts, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Thursday.
- Greek deal frays as IMF threatens walk-out on debt buy-back impasse. The eurozone's debt relief plan for Greece has hit serious trouble within days as banks and pension funds balk at fresh losses, raising fears that the package could unravel before a deadline in mid-December.
- Ifo's Sinn Doubt Euro Crisis States More Competitive. Ifo economic institute President Hans-Werner Sinn questions the view of the EU Commission that crisis-struck states in the euro area are becoming more competitive, citing an interview.
- The main opposition Syriza party, which opposes Greek loan accord, has 31.5% support among likely voters, a poll by VPRC showed. Greek PM Samaras's New Democracy party would get 26.5% if elections held now. Nationalist Golden Dawn Party would have 12.5% support. 85% are dissatisfied with the way the govt is handling the country's problems.
No comments:
Post a Comment