US
Pension Crisis: This is How Families Get Squeezed to Bail Out Pension Funds in
Chicago - (www.wolfstreet.com) Chicago
is another trailblazer. But it’s not alone. Other cities are lining up behind
it. Bankruptcy may still be the route to go. But until then, homeowners,
renters, drivers, users of phones, etc. – in other words regular families
who’re just sitting ducks – are going to get squeezed dry, in order to slow the
momentum of the public-employee pension crisis eating up the city’s and the
school district’s finances. “Because of a new accounting rule, Chicago now has
to report its pension debt on its balance sheet,” explains Truth in Accounting. “As a result, the city’s reported
pension debt grew from $8.6 billion in 2014 to $33.8 billion in 2015.”
Fed
Rate Rise Could Come ‘Relatively Soon’ as Data Point to Stronger Economy - (www.wsj.com) Note: Odd,
only one rate raise in 9 years, so will be interesting to see if Yellen raises
rates on Trump in first Fed meeting. ***
The U.S. dollar steamed to a level not seen since 2003 and yields on the
10-year Treasury note reached a high for the year Thursday, as Federal Reserve
Chairwoman Janet Yellen confirmed investors’ view that the U.S.
economy is strong enough to withstand an interest-rate rise soon. Ms. Yellen
told lawmakers in testimony Thursday that the Fed could move “relatively soon,”
after the government released a grab bag of economic data all pointing to a
stronger economy: an improving housing market, rising consumer prices and a
more robust labor market. “At this stage, I do think that the economy is making
very good progress toward our goals, and that the judgment the [Fed policy]
committee reached in November still pertains,” she told Congress’s Joint
Economic Committee.
Mexico
Raises Overnight Rate After Trump’s Win Wallops Peso - (www.bloomberg.com) Mexico’s
central bank raised borrowing costs for the fourth time this year after Donald
Trump’s election dragged the peso to never-before-seen levels of more than 20
per dollar, boosting the risk of faster inflation. Policy makers increased the
key rate a half point to 5.25 percent Thursday, the highest level since 2009.
Most of the 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg beforehand expected a
half-point increase, with the rest split between a hike of three quarters of a
point and a full-point. The peso fell 0.9 percent to 20.3859 per dollar at 3:18
p.m. in New York, signalling that the market may have expected a bigger
increase or more measures.
Rise of Populism Tops Anxiety List at Frankfurt Banking Meeting - (www.bloomberg.com) The rise of populism in developed nations is tearing at the political fabric of Europe, unsettling markets and undermining growth prospects, top European bankers said in Frankfurt on Friday. “The uncertainty in the market, especially the political and economic instability, has never been as pronounced as it is today,’’ Commerzbank AG Martin Zielke said at the annual European Banking Congress. “We don’t want to go down the path of nationalism.’’ Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. presidential elections have fueled concerns that nationalism and populism are gaining a dimension that may turn anti-EU parties into a dominant force across the continent. The Dec. 4 constitutional referendum in Italy and elections in France and Germany next year will be a measure of how destabilizing the surge may be, the bankers said.
U.S.
Supreme Court allows ATM fees lawsuits to proceed – (www.reuters.com) The
U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday gave the green light to class action lawsuits by
consumers accusing Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc and several U.S. banks of
conspiring to inflate the prices of ATM access fees in violation of antitrust
law. The appeals court ruled that a district court had erred when it concluded
that consumers had no legal standing to sue and had not adequately alleged
antitrust violations. It remanded the three consolidated lawsuits to the
district court for further proceedings. The lawsuits accused Visa and
MasterCard of adopting rules protecting themselves from competition with
lower-cost ATM networks. The rules blocked ATM operators from charging less
when ATM transactions were processed by networks competing with Visa and
Mastercard, the lawsuits said.
Treasury Yields Reach Year’s High as Fed on Track for Rate Hike - (www.bloomberg.com)
Wall street stocks lifted by data, earnings Yellen remarks - (www.reuters.com)
Mexico central bank hikes rate after Trump win, peso still weakens - (www.reuters.com)
The Air Has Come Out of One of 2016's Most Popular Trades - (www.bloomberg.com)
2017 May Be Japan's 'Year of the Taper' - (www.bloomberg.com)
Across China, Walmart Faces Labor Unrest as Authorities Stand Aside - (www.nytimes.com)
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