TOP
STORIES:
Spain's Bailout Boost Quickly Turns to Rout - (online.wsj.com) Investors gave a thumbs down
to Spain's planned bank bailout, setting off a global market rout that puts the
country and the euro zone in a dire position. Spain
agreed over the weekend to accept as much as €100 billion ($125 billion) in
European aid to recapitalize its banks, a plan designed to ease concern that
Spain itself could be dragged down by the declining fortunes of its banks. Instead, confidence in Spain deteriorated among the
constituency the country most needs to impress: the buyers of its government
bonds. After a short-lived burst of strength Monday morning, Spanish bond
yields reversed course and began a sharp rise. The 10-year bond was yielding
6.521%, three-tenths of a percentage point higher than at Friday's close. Bond
yields rise when their prices fall; a higher yield indicates an increased
perception of risk.
Fed Says U.S. Wealth Fell 38.8% in 2007-2010 on Housing - (www.bloomberg.com) The median net worth of U.S.
families plunged 38.8 percent from 2007 to 2010, with the biggest losses
concentrated among households with the most assets tied to their homes, a
Federal Reserve study shows. Median household net worth declined to $77,300 in
2010, an 18-year low, from $126,400 in 2007, the central bank said in its
Survey of Consumer Finances. Mean net worth fell 14.7 percent to a nine-year
low of $498,800 from $584,600, the central bank said today in Washington. “The
impact has been a massive destruction of wealth all across the board,” said Lance
Roberts, who oversees $500 million as chief executive officer of
Streettalk Advisors LLC in Houston. “What you see is an economy that’s really
very, very stressed for the bottom 60 to 70 percent of the population that’s
struggling just to make ends meet.”
Exclusive: Euro zone discussed capital controls if Greek exits
euro: sources - (www.reuters.com) European finance officials have discussed
limiting the size of withdrawals from ATM machines, imposing border checks and
introducing euro zone capital controls as a worst-case scenario should Athens
decide to leave the euro. EU officials have told Reuters the ideas are part of
a range of contingency plans. They emphasized that the discussions were merely
about being prepared for any eventuality rather than planning for something
they expect to happen - no one Reuters has spoken to expects Greece to leave the single currency
area. But with increased political uncertainty in Greece following the
inconclusive election on May 6 and ahead of a second election on June 17, there
is now an increased need to have contingencies in place, the EU sources said.
Greeks seek better terms after Spanish rescue - (www.reuters.com) Greece can seek a better deal
from Europe for its own rescue after Spain won lenient bailout terms, the main
Greek parties said on Monday, a sign that however Greece votes this week it
will be headed for a showdown with Brussels. With days to go before the June 17
election which could decide Greece's future in the euro zone, the Spanish
accord has been dragged into a campaign being fought largely over the harsh
conditions imposed under Greece's own 130 billion euro bailout. The radical
leftwing SYRIZA party, which has campaigned on a pledge to scrap the Greek
bailout altogether and demand better terms, said the Spanish deal proved that
the austerity imposed by international lenders had failed.
Ranks
of long-term unemployed still growing - (money.cnn.com)
The national unemployment
rate has fallen from its recession highs, but Americans who have been out of
work for six months or more are still having trouble finding work. The numbers
are staggering. The ranks of the long-term unemployed swelled last month from
5.1 million to 5.4 million, and those individuals now account for 42.8% of the
unemployed. Meanwhile, the average length of time the unemployed have spent out
of work has climbed steadily higher -- and older Americans have been the
hardest hit. "The result is nothing short of a national emergency,"
economists Dean Baker and Kevin Hassett wrote recently in the New York Times.
Over
50, battling unemployment - (money.cnn.com)
Older workers who have been unemployed for over a year find it harder to get in
the door and earn like they used to.
No comments:
Post a Comment