Thursday, June 5, 2014

Friday June 6 Housing and Economic stories


These public servants are earning millions - (www.cnbc.com) At a time when the cost of college is an increasing worry for many families, running a public college is becoming a more lucrative job. Nine public-college presidents earned more than $1 million a year in total compensation in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, a new analysis from The Chronicle of Higher Education finds. That's up from four in 2011-2012 and three in 2010-2011. The analysis of presidents at more than 200 public universities and systems found that most public college presidents were far from the million-dollar mark. The median total compensation for the 2012-2013 year was $478,896, a 5 percent increase over the previous year. The highest-paid college president was E. Gordon Gee, former president of Ohio State University. He had total compensation of more than $6 million while at Ohio State, the report found, although much of that was due to deferred compensation and severance pay.

Swiss Voters Just Rejected A $25 An Hour Minimum Wage - (www.businessinsider.com) Swiss voters on Sunday rejected proposals to introduce the world's highest minimum wage and spend $3.5 billion buying new Gripen fighter jets from Saab. About 76 percent of voters in the wealthy nation dismissed the proposal made by Swiss union SGB and backed by the Socialist and Green parties for a minimum wage of 22 Swiss francs ($25) per hour, final results showed. Meanwhile, some 53 percent blocked a government plan to free up funds to replace Switzerland's aging fleet of fighter jets with 22 Gripen jets from Saab. Just over 55 percent of those eligible voted, the government said. The clear rejection of the proposed minimum wage - which corresponds to a monthly paycheck of 4,000 francs (about $4,500) - brings relief to business leaders worried the measure would have hurt competitiveness and damaged the Swiss workplace.

Whatever it takes: Seniors seek roomies to survive - (www.cnbc.com) Living with roommates when you're 25 is one thing. When you're 65, it's another story—but it's a reality for a growing number of older Americans. Middle-class seniors and the growing wave of baby boomers behind them want to stay in their homes and communities as they grow old, but escalating costs of everything from food to medication to property taxes; battered retirement portfolios; and dwindling savings have today's older Americans looking to become ad hoc landlords or tenants, even if the practice is forbidden by zoning restrictions. "With high costs of living today, and diminished resources of seniors, renting and sharing excess space in one's dwelling will certainly call into question the relevance of current laws," said Robert Stein, president and CEO of the American Society on Aging, via email. Ultimately, while these kinds of arrangements can give seniors a richer life as well as financial stability, Stein said there were plenty of instances where people attempting these kinds of living situations had run afoul of authorities.

Greek Selloff Shows Rush for Exit Recalling Crisis: Euro Credit - (www.bloomberg.com) Bondholders in Europe just got a wakeup call. After a four-month rally in euro-region debt, yields on Italian and Spanish bonds had their biggest one-day jump in almost a year last week as a selloff that started in Greece spread. With bids evaporating and prices sliding, traders poured into derivatives as they rushed to protect against losses. Italy’s and Spain’s bonds extended that slump today. Even with borrowing costs from Ireland to Italy near record lows, the sudden price swing shows they’re not immune to the bouts of volatility that characterized the four-year debt crisis. The risk is that speculative traders, who bought debt on the assumption the European Central Bank would support the market, may try to flee at the same time if the outlook darkens. “You only know how wide the door to the exit is when there are a few of you trying to push through at the same time,” Michael Riddell, a London-based fund manager at M&G Group Plc, which oversees the equivalent of $417 billion, said on May 16. “I don’t think liquidity has been that great in peripherals at any stage.”

Portugal exits bailout poorer and long way from recovery - (www.cnbc.com) As Portugal's government toasts its exit from an international bailout that imposed years of austerity on its citizens, small business owner Alexandra Capelo is in no mood to join the celebrations. From Lisbon's poorer neighbouring city of Almada across the River Tagus, 42-year-old mother of two Capelo is one of the nearly 800,000 people, or 15 percent of the workforce, still unemployed as the country takes back control of its finances. "Things have gotten worse since last year, business and job-wise," said Capelo, who has relied on a home-based sweets business to supplement her jobless benefits since being laid off as a graphic designer in January. On Saturday, Portugal becomes the second euro zone state after Ireland to exit a bailout, having stuck to the European Union's recipe of belt-tightening to beat the euro zone crisis.

  



No comments: