Canadian
households owed $2 trillion at the end of 2016 - (www.cnbc.com) Debt
levels continue to hit record highs in this country, but Canadians' net worth
is also rising as the value of assets increases. The information is contained
in a Statistics Canada report released Wednesday on how much Canadians owe, and
what they're buying with their borrowed money. The much publicized
debt-to-income ratio — how much we owe, compared to how much we earn — inched
up to 167.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016, a new high. That
means for every dollar of Canadians' disposable income, they owe almost
$1.67 in debt. "The debt-to-income ratio was up 2.4 percentage points in
2016 overall, marking the fastest annual growth since 2010," TD Bank
economist Diana Petramala observed after the numbers came out. "Gains in
real estate asset values, however, helped keep most other ratios of
indebtedness stable."
The
Bloodletting among Retailers Simply Doesn’t Let Up - (www.wolfstreet.com) Neiman
Marcus, the Texas-based luxury retailer with 42 stores around the country and
two Bergdorf Goodman stores in Manhattan, is in no immediate risk of
bankruptcy, the sources told Reuters on
Friday, though it has hired investment bank Lazard Ltd to help restructuring
its nearly $5 billion in debt. When this news emerged, Neiman Marcus unsecured
bonds due in 2021 plunged 7% to 54 cents on the dollar, according to Thomson
Reuters, and its $3 billion term loan fell 5% to 77 cents on the dollar. Earlier
this year, Neiman Marcus scrapped its IPO entirely, after having delayed it in
2015 when its difficulties could no longer
be swept under the rug.
In December that year, it reported its first quarterly sales decline since
2009, with same-store sales dropping 5.6%. There was plenty of red ink. And
layoffs commenced.
As
Venezuelan "Bread War" Escalates, Maduro Warns Bakers "You Will
Pay, I Swear" - (www.zerohedge.com) With its people resorting to eating flamingoes, the Venezuelan government has decided to find yet another thing to blame for
the collapse of the socialist utopia - the bakers! As The BBC reports, the Venezuelan government says it will expropriate bakeries which fail to abide by new government
regulations aimed at tackling bread shortages. In
a growing row between the government and bakers, officials said that bakeries
could face fines if people had to queue to get their bread. Severe shortages of
basic goods mean that Venezuelans often have to queue for hours to buy
essential items. The government says the shortages
are caused by an "economic war". “They're
going to pay, I swear. Those responsible for the bread war are going to
pay and they better not complain that it was a political persecution.. bakeries
which do not follow [the rules] will be occupied by the government."
Where’s
Citizenship for Sale? Huddled Masses Need Not Apply - (www.wolfstreet.com) Most
countries offer citizenship (passports) the hard way. But 7 sell them
outright, and 3 have “powerful” passports. “Citizenship Planning” is
a thing. For people who need a second citizenship and passport to
dodge the long arm of their government, there is something called
“citizenship planning,” similar to “financial planning.” But when it comes to
just outright buying a citizenship and passport without having to languish for
years as mere non-citizen resident, the Huddled Masses need not apply. And not
any passport will do. In fact, there are only three for sale that are really
good. Then there’s the direct way: Buy a citizenship and the passport that comes
along with it. These citizenship-by-investment programs are not for folks on a
tight budget. According to Henley & Partners, only seven countries offer
this convenient route, only three have powerful passports, and only one is in
the top of the heap above. Passports from EU countries are the best. If you’re
from Russia or China or Iraq and become a citizen of one of the 28 EU countries, you’ll get a country-specific EU passport
that allows you to live and do business anywhere in the EU. There are all
sorts of offshore benefits. And travel around the world is a breeze.
NY
AG Still Refuses To Fork Over Emails Related To Exxon Climate Probe - (www.dailycaller.com) The
attorney general who revealed Rex Tillerson used a pseudonym while with
ExxonMobil continues to block requests to review the Democrat’s connections to
groups bankrolling the anti-Exxon probe. New York AG Eric Schneiderman told a judge earlier this week that Tillerson used the alias
“Wayne Tracker” for years during email exchanges with company executives. The
Democrat made his revelation while hiding the names of donors behind a nearly
two-year investigation into Exxon’s climate research. Schneiderman refuses to
fork over emails between his office and wealthy donors such as Rockefeller
Brothers Fund, Rockefeller Family Fund, and billionaire activist Tom Steyer. He
uses a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) “law enforcement” exemption to
justify blocking the requests, and claims his communication with the donors is part
of the Exxon investigation.
The
Gold Party's Back on After Yellen Reassures the Market - (www.bloomberg.com)The Market Is Acting Like the Fed Cut Rates Yesterday - (www.bloomberg.com)
Low VIX Got You Down? These Fear Gauges May Do the Trick - (www.bloomberg.com)
Mounting Costs, Not PBOC, Could Slow China's Bank Debt Binge - (www.bloomberg.com)
China treads closer to a day of debt reckoning - (www.ft.com)
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