NZ dollar hostage to Fed rate hike

When will US Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen start to raise official rates? Photo / Getty Images

Will they or won't they? That's the question that has been on investors' minds for the best part of two years as they try to guess when the US Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen will finally start to raise official rates.
When that happens, it means US regulators will be confident that the world's biggest economy is on the right path after years of monetary moves to try to shake off a post-Global Financial Crisis hangover.
According to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which provides a snapshot of economic conditions in the Fed's 12 districts, most of the United States is experiencing solid growth, with only the energy sector proving a drag.
But the latest jobs report showing the US economy added 173,000 jobs in August - fewer than expected - failed to give Fed watchers much of a clue as to what the central bank will do when officials meet to consider policy next week.
However, the commonly held view is that the US central bank will make its move before the year is out, which is likely to put upward pressure on the greenback and more downward pressure on the NZ dollar.
Based on Friday's closing level of US63.59c, the kiwi has dropped by 28 per cent since piercing US88c a little over a year ago - driven down by prospects of a rate hike by the Fed, coupled with the start of the Reserve Bank's easing cycle here and sharply lower dairy prices.
Economists are close to unanimous that the Reserve Bank chairman Graeme Wheeler will cut its rate by 25 basis points on Thursday when the bank issues its official cash rate review, but there is conjecture about what happens with interest rates after that.
Regardless, currency strategists said the driver of the Kiwi dollar will still be the Fed's next course of action.
Most banks expect the New Zealand dollar to fall further before the year is out.

Imre Speizer, senior markets strategist at Westpac, said the Fed's next move would be pivotal. Opinions vary as to how much lower the kiwi will go - ANZ's house view is that the currency will reach US61c by the end of the year and US59c by March next year.
Westpac and BNZ expect to see the kiwi reach US62c by the end of the year but Westpac is at the more pessimistic end of the spectrum in terms of its expected interest rate track.
The bank expects the rate to fall to 2 per cent by early next year.
The prospect of a Fed rate hike has been a significant driver of the New Zealand dollar over the past year at least, said Raiko Shareef, currency strategist at BNZ.
"Now the debate is more around whether the market has got ahead of itself as people try and guess when that [US] rate hike will occur," Shareef said.
"We still think there is a bit more juice left in this US dollar rally."

- NZ Herald

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$100 Billion BRICS Monetary Fund Now Operational

 The $100 billion BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) has become fully operational following the inaugural meetings of the BRICS CRA Board of Governors and the Standing Committee in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
“The first meetings of the governing bodies mark the start of a full-scale operation of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement as an international institution with activities set to enhance and strengthen cooperation,” said a Russian Central Bank statement on Friday.
BRICS leaders Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Jacob Zuma, Narendra Modi and Dilma Rousseff witnessed the signing of the agreement on the CRA in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza in July 2014.
The agreement entered into force on July 30, 2015.
China will provide the bulk of the funding with $41 billion, Brazil, Russia and India with $18 billion each, and South Africa with $5 billion.
The CRA is meant to provide an alternative to International Monetary Fund’s emergency lending. In the CRA, emergency loans of up to 30 per cent of a member nation’s contribution will be decided by a simple majority. Bigger loans will require the consent of all CRA members.
http://thebricspost.com/100bn-brics-m…

NYC’s growing homeless population becoming increasingly violent, carrying out routine assaults against innocents

by: Daniel Barker
(NaturalNews) New York City has a big problem with homelessness. As the number of homeless people in the Big Apple has steadily increased in recent years, so have incidences of violence carried out by desperate, often mentally ill people who are living on the city’s streets.
A recent spike in violent incidents involving homeless people has stirred a major controversy among residents and authorities. This controversy has been fueled by sensationalist news outlets and those who wish to point the finger of blame at various institutions and individuals, which has turned the issue into a political hot potato.
Two recent incidents that gained national attention in the media involved violent attacks by homeless New Yorkers on innocent passersby. The target of one of the unprovoked attacks was a Chinese tourist who was beaten in the face by a two-by-four wielding homeless man as he was leaving his midtown Manhattan hotel. The victim’s nose was broken in the attack.
The other incident involved a 72-year-old architect who was stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors by a homeless woman as he was walking along W. 14th Street near 7th Avenue.
The two somewhat similar attacks, which occurred within a few days of each other, sparked a call to action on the part of authorities to begin seriously addressing a situation New Yorkers have been witnessing for some time now – namely, the growing ranks of homeless people in the city and all the attendant problems associated with them, including an increase in violent incidents and aggressive panhandling techniques.

The numbers tell a story

The statistics are clear. A report by the Coalition for the Homeless states:
New York City’s homeless population continued to rise last year, with the number ofhomeless people sleeping each night in municipal shelters exceeding 60,000 people, including 25,000 children, for the first time ever. And during the last City fiscal year, an all-time-record 116,000 different New Yorkers, including 42,000 different children, slept at least one night in the New York City shelter system.
One out of every 43 children living in New York City has spent at least one night in a homeless shelter. This figure is 1 in 17 for African-American children and 1 in 34 for Latino children, compared to 1 in 368 for white children.
Many of the adults living on the street have mental health issues, which has been a major factor in the proliferation of violent incidents.
As Mayor Bill de Blasio and other local politicians scramble to find solutions, the rest of the populace is beginning to realize that the policies of the current “leadership” in Washington have been a complete disaster.

The failure of progressivist policies

Our economy is in shambles and our traditional social and family values have deteriorated to the point where there is little hope for those trapped in poverty, particularly those who are mentally ill. In New York and elsewhere, there is a shortage of jobs, affordable housing and resources for those who have fallen between the cracks.
The fake economic recovery and the scarcity of real jobs continues to take its toll, no matter how they try to cook the books to make things appear otherwise. The employment rate figures are a lie, and as we veer towards an even bigger and inevitable economic crisis, we can expect the ranks of desperate and sometimes violent homeless people to increase.
It has been said that a nation can be judged by the way it treats its weakest members. If the way America treats its poor, its mentally ill, its war veterans and its children are any indication, we as a nation are in a state of steep decline.
Our leaders have failed us, and the shameful evidence is now appearing in our cities’ streets and homeless shelters.
Sources:
http://www.myfoxny.com
http://newyork.cbslocal.com
http://www.myfoxny.com
http://www.nydailynews.com
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/state-homeless-2015/

"We Made It Wider!" Hank Paulson Bursts Out Laughing When Asked About Wealth Inequality

A few months ago, a hurt Ben Bernanke put on his blogger hat and set out to explain why, in his mind, the unconventional policies undertaken by the Fed in the post-crisis years have not contributed to record income inequality. As we noted at the time, epic hilarity ensued.
Bernanke’s explanation went something like this: while QE does indeed inflate asset prices, poor people have been getting poorer for quite some time, so sure, maybe the Fed contributed a little bit, but probably not a whole lot and besides, the more Keynes the better when it comes to smoothing out the business cycle and a smooth business cycle is good for everyone. Finally, Bernanke patiently explained that to the extent ZIRP punishes savers it’s nonsensical to mention it in any discussion about income inequality because after all, poor people don’t have savings.
That description is probably not as generous as it could be, but if you read Bernanke’s post it’s pretty close.
First of all, the whole "smoothing out of the busines cycle" bit is pure fiction. If anything, attempts to centrally plan the economy are leading to greater and greater boom and bust cycles. Furthermore, denying that QE has exacerbated income inequality is to assert that somehow, inflating the value of a certain set of assets doesn’t by definition widen the gap between the accumulated wealth of the people holding those assets and the people who don’t hold those assets. The St. Louis Fed seems to understand this (incidentally, they also understand that there’s no evidence whatsoever to support the notion that QE increases “healthy” inflation and/or has a demonstrable impact on output) even if Bernanke does not.
If you needed proof of the widening gap between the rich and everyone else (and the attendant rise of class segregation) beyond that presented by the St. Louis Fed study linked above and by the anecdotal evidence that’s readily observable by looking at the prices paid this year for high-end art and mega mansions, look no further than Wall Street, where, thanks to the Fed’s generosity, Lloyd Blankfein is now a billionaire.
Speaking of Goldman Sachs and income inequality, back in April, Hank Paulson and Robert Rubin sat down with Sheryl Sandberg and Tim Geithner at an event hosted by Michael Milken (no less), to discuss a variety of topics. Around a half hour into the discussion, Sandberg asks Paulson about income inequality. Here’s what happens next:

Sandberg: “Yeah, so let’s follow up on a bunch of the things we were [talking about]. Let’s start with income inequality.”

Paulson: “Ok, well.. income inequality. I think this is something we’ve all thought about. You know I was working on that topic when I was still at Goldman Sachs..”

Rubin: “In which direction? You were working on increasing it.”

Paulson then bursts out laughing: "Yeah! We were making it wider!"
Here’s the clip:

 

Needless to say, in the post-crisis world where the ultra rich fork over $180 million for paintings while everyday Americans struggle even to afford rent in a one-bedroom apartment, this subject is far from funny.
In fact, it’s downright depressing and we mean that in the most literal sense possible because as it turns out, a new study released on Friday by the UK’s Office of National Statistics has proven yet again (see our previous discussion on this) that money does indeed buy happiness.
From the report:

An individual’s level of personal well-being is strongly related to the level of wealth of the household in which they live. Life satisfaction, sense of worth and happiness are higher, and anxiety less, as the level of household wealth increases.

So laugh it up Hank, Bob, and Sheryl. Just remember that history is replete with examples of the types of things that can happen if and when the downtrodden masses finally become fed up with egregious and endemic inequality.
Of course it could be that Paulson is hoping his refuge at Little St. Simons Island (which he bought several years ago), will provide enough of a buffer from the angry peasantry to allow him to keep laughing...

*  *  *

Money Buys Happiness

   Money Buys Happiness

Keep out Californians: How high home prices in California migrate into other states where Californians follow.

It is well documented that the middle class of California has been migrating out of the state for well over a decade.  A large part of the population growth is coming from births and foreign migration.  Foreign buying of real estate has accelerated in the last decade and has helped to push prices up in many California cities.  Many owners are enjoying the large gains in equity if they sell.  You don’t get to enjoy that equity until you close escrow and some Californians are cashing in those lottery tickets and heading out to more affordable places.  In some areas this is causing prices to increase.  During the last bubble California was a big player in inflating Nevada and Arizona real estate as people were buying second homes and investment properties.  This time, you are seeing people buying for long-term purposes of relocation.  Not everyone is thrilled about this trend especially local families in said markets that now find themselves priced out.  All this does is makes the renterfication of the country more pronounced.  In Portland people are becoming active and placing anti-California stickers on real estate signs.

Keep out Californians
Many people need to stay in California because of work and family obligations.  Yet when we look at the data we find that many homeowners are older in age.  If you are able to find a lower cost of living state, you can truly maximize that equity lottery ticket you have.  Taco Tuesday boomers are cashing in and are heading to various parts of the country.  But when you have many people targeting one place, prices can and will get pushed up especially in the midst of a mania.
Portland has become one of those target areas and some residents are not happy:
  

“(Oregon Live) Portlanders apparently upset with the direction of the local housing market are slapping “no Californians” stickers on For Sale signs in the city, real estate agents say.”
“A lot of these homes are going into bidding wars and going over ask price,” Irvine said. “And a lot of these guys are getting outbid. And I think they’re going around to agents who have properties that have sold over ask price and putting anti-California stickers.”

Of course Californians can only purchase so much real estate.  The mania is forming across many metro areas thanks to low interest rates and tight inventory.  Add in out-of-state buyers and you can understand why prices are moving up.  But who does this benefit?  It benefits those selling in California and leaving.  It benefits the homeowner in the targeted location.  But it makes it tougher for local families that didn’t benefit from the wild price gains of other states (i.e., San Francisco tech mania).  Ultimately this trend simply adds more fuel to the growing number of renter households.
You also have other locations like Austin Texas.  This hipster paradise has seen a lot of movement from Californians.  Net migration out of California is very real especially to Texas:

Texas has become the number one destination for Californians leaving the state.  Once in awhile we get the comment about “leaving the state” and when you look at the data, a large number of working class and middle class Californians have already done so.

“(The Daily Signal) About 5 million California residents left the Golden State during the past decade, marking an “unprecedented” number according to a report released this week.
The Sacramento Bee analyzed tax return data from the Internal Revenue Service between 2004 and 2013, the height of the housing crash and recession, which impacted California more sharply than most states.
During that time period, about 3.9 million people moved to California from other states, leaving a net migration population loss of more than 1 million people.
Texas attracted more Californians than any other state, drawing 600,000 residents.”

Yet the large group moving out is likely to be non-homeowners.  Now we are seeing what lottery ticket homeowners are doing with their equity and they are continuing the tradition of inflating real estate prices in other markets.  Some folks are not taking kindly to this:

I’ve heard from people going to Portland, Tucson, Boulder, Austin, and Miami to leverage their big California equity.  If you are heading into retirement, this is probably a very wise move to cut down on your cost of living expenses.  I know we have a few readers from Oregon and Washington so I’d be curious to hear your experience.

Record 94,031,000 Americans Not in Labor Force; Participation Rate Stuck at 38-Year Low for 3rd Straight Month

Source: CNS News

A record 94,031,000 Americans were not in the American labor force last month -- 261,000 more than July -- and the labor force participation rate stayed stuck at 62.6 percent, a 38-year low, for a third straight month in August, the Labor Department reported on Friday, as the nation heads into the Labor Day weekend.

The number of Americans not in the labor force has continued to rise, partly because of retiring baby-boomers and fewer workers entering the workforce.
In August, according to BLS, the nation’s civilian noninstitutional population, consisting of all people 16 or older who were not in the military or an institution, reached 251,096,000. Of those, 157,065,000 participated in the labor force by either holding a job or actively seeking one.
The 157,065,000 who participated in the labor force equaled only 62.6 percent of the 251,096,000 civilian noninstitutional population -- the same as it was in July and June. Not since October 1977, when the participation rate dropped to 62.4, has the percentage been this low.

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Saudi to cut spending, issue more bonds to shore up budget

Dubai (AFP) - Saudi Arabia will cut spending and issue more bonds as it faces a record budget shortfall due to falling oil prices, the finance minister said on Sunday.

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The kingdom -- the biggest Arab economy and the world's largest oil exporter -- is facing an unprecedented budget crunch after crude prices dropped by more than half in a year to below $50 a barrel.

It has so far relied on its huge fiscal reserves to bridge the gap but Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said more measures would be necessary.

"We are working... to cut unnecessary expenditure," Assaf told Dubai-based CNBC Arabia in Washington, where he is accompanying King Salman on a visit.

He provided no details on the scale of the cuts but insisted key spending in education and health and on infrastructure would not be affected.

"There are projects that were adopted several years ago and have not started yet. These can be delayed," Assaf said.
He said the government would issue more conventional treasury bonds and Islamic sukuk bonds to "finance the budget deficit" -- which is projected by the International Monetary Fund at a record $130 billion (117 billion euros) for this year.
The kingdom has so far issued bonds worth "less than 100 billion riyals ($27 billion/24 billion euros)" to help with the shortfall, he said, without providing an exact figure.
"We intend to issue more bonds and could issue sukuk for certain projects... before the end of 2015," Assaf said.
Saudi Arabia has projected an official budget shortfall for this year of $39 billion, but the IMF and other institutions believe the actual deficit will be much higher.
The IMF forecast in July that the deficit will be 20 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while Saudi Arabia's Jadwa Investment firm said on Wednesday it expects the shortfall to be around $109 billion.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia posted a budget deficit of $17.5 billion -- only its second since 2002.

Jadwa said that by the end of July the government had withdrawn $82 billion from its reserves, reducing the assets to $650 billion.

The reserves are expected to drop to $629 billion by the end of the year, Jadwa said.

Economic growth is expected to slow from the 3.5 percent recorded last year, with the IMF forecasting in July that the Saudi economy would expand by 2.8 percent this year.

It is forecasting 2.4 percent growth for next year.

Citing official figures, Jadwa said Wednesday that the Saudi economy grew 3.8 percent in the second quarter, up from 2.4 percent in the previous period, due to a rise in oil production.

Saudi Arabia pumped a record 10.6 million barrels per day in June but this slowed to 10.4 million bpd in July, it said.

The budget shortfall is hitting as Saudi Arabia maintains a costly military intervention against Iran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen.

Low-wage America and the illusion of economic recovery

US workers have little to celebrate this Labor Day weekend or any other one. America is being systematically thirdworldized – represented by weak unions complicit with management or none at all, unable to bargain effectively for higher wages.

Economic recovery is an illusion. A protracted Main Street Depression persists. Poverty is a growth industry. Around 23% of Americans wanting work can’t find it.

Most available jobs are rotten ones – temp or part-time low pay/poor or no benefit service ones with no futures. Conditions are getting worse, not better.

Millions of good jobs were offshored to low-wage countries. Millions more may follow. Many displaced workers remain unemployed longterm. Others finding work take huge wage cuts.

Labor force participation is the lowest in 40 years. A new National Employment Law Project (NELP) report is titled “Low-Wage Occupations See Steepest Drop in Real Wages.”

“Stagnant wages have become a fact of life for nearly all of America’s workers, but workers in lower-paying occupations are finding it especially tough to keep up with the rising cost of living,” NELP executive director Christine Owens explained.

“Not only are their paychecks not growing, but their purchasing power has shrunk considerably, and to a far greater extent than that of higher-wage earners.”

NELP examined median hourly wage changes from 2009 – 2014 for 785 occupations – categorized into five groups with equal weighting.

It found 4% wage declines on average – low and “mid-wage” occupations hardest hit, up to 5.7%. Declines were greatest in restaurant sector jobs. Food preparation workers saw 7.7% lower incomes. For cooks, it was 8.9%.

Janitors, cleaners, personal care aides, home health workers, maids and housekeepers were hard hit. Many job categories expected to see strong growth in number of workers are experiencing above-average real wage declines.

“Five of the ten occupations projected to add the greatest number of jobs between 2012 and 2022 were at the bottom of the occupational distribution in 2014, with real median wages between $8.84 and $10.97,” NELP reported. “Six of the ten highest-growth occupations saw real wage declines of 5.0 percent or more between 2009 and 2014.”

At the same time, lowest paid workers earning poverty and sub-poverty wages saw wage declines of 1.6%. How much lower is the bottom of the barrel than already?

Minimum wage workers don’t earn enough to live on – why homelessness and hunger affect millions of Americans. Around 3.5 million men, women and children have no place to live. They sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelters, cars or on city streets.

Nearly one-fourth are military veterans. Many others are children, victims of domestic violence or mental illness sufferers – federal, state and local governments doing little or nothing to help them.

Homelessness is mainly an economic problem – caused by unemployment, underemployment and inadequate resources to live on.

During the 1950s and 1960s, government housing programs and other social services eradicated homelessness. Major cuts in these programs caused an epidemic of people unable to afford shelter.

America’s safety net is disappearing altogether. Hunger affects one in six Americans. Over 14 million children rely on food banks to eat.

Food insecurity exists in every US county nationwide – at its highest level at any time since the Great Depression. Hunger is a daily reality for around 50 million Americans – affecting 13 million households, including working ones.

Census data show poverty or borderline conditions affect around half the population. Food stamps provide a woefully inadequate $1.40 per person per meal. Food banks supplement recipients when monthly benefits run out. Most often it’s around 10 days or more before month’s end.

Official numbers understate reality. Growing millions suffer out of sight and mind. Government is dismissive at all levels.

America’s wealth disparity is unprecedented. Income inequality is greater than in all other developed countries. Over three-fourths of workers live from paycheck to paycheck – one missed one away from homelessness, hunger and despair.

Neoliberal harshness is official US policy. Bipartisan complicity force-feeds it – institutionalized when vital aid is needed. America wages financial war on its own people. Its social contract is on the chopping block for elimination.

Monied interests alone are served – ordinary people increasingly ignored. America’s political system is too corrupted to fix. Voters have no say whatever. Democracy is pure illusion.

Anyone believing they can change things electorally is living in a fantasy world. America’s one-party state with two wings affords voters no choice at all – no matter what candidates represent them at all levels of government.

The only solution is revolutionary change – bottom up, never top down.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs. 

Source: Stephen Lendman, 5 September 2015

SUPERVISORS TOLD TO LIE ABOUT BANK HEALTH; INVESTORS FLEEING JAPAN STOCK MARKET;

 Links to articles are below.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idU…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/article…
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news…
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/ar…
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/ar…
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/ar…

Citi: Outflows from Hong Kong/China stocks accelerating sharply

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Outflows from Hong Kong/China stocks accelerating sharply, via Citi.

12:55 PM - 2 Sep 2015

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Newspaper Junk! Unemployment drops. America is booming. NOT.

 

China begins arresting journalists for reporting on global market crash

(NaturalNews) The Chinese government is known for its authoritarianism and secrecy, which helps explain why there has been a crackdown of sorts on any journalists seeking to report the truth surrounding China’s stock market plunge and economic disorder. (Republished from Collapse.news.)
As noted by Zero Hedge, Chinese authorities have been working for two months to control not just the country’s stock market but also the narrative surrounding the market’s recent negative performance.
“After an unwind in the CNY1 trillion back alley margin lending complex sparked a late June selloff, China cobbled together a plunge protection team run by China Securities Finance (an arm of CSRC [China Securities Regulatory Commission]) and began intervening in the market,” Zero Hedge reported. “That effort has cost an estimated CNY900 billion so far.”
However, the financial news and commentary site noted, on July 20 the well-respectedCaijing magazine suggested that the CSF was preparing to scale back market interventions that many believed had kept the Shanghai Composite, China’s main stock market index, from collapsing altogether.
$5 trillion in lost value
That report caused futures to slide in China in very short order, but the “rumor” was denied by the CSRC. And, as reported by Bloomberg Business, the reporter was quickly arrested for “spreading fake stock and futures trading information.”
The Chinese probe of the magazine and reporter was announced by Xinhua News Agency, the government’s official mouthpiece, which also called for efforts to “purify” the markets after a $5 trillion loss in trading value.
In addition, the news service carried quotes from a central bank researcher who attributed the market rout to an expected Federal Reserve rate increase in the U.S.
The Shanghai Composite Index has thus far nosedived more than 40 percent from its peak following concerns over the Chinese economy that sapped a months-long rally that had been artificially championed by state-run media.
Chinese authorities have repeated blamed market manipulators as well as foreign forces since the selloff began in June – which in turn led Beijing to adopt an unprecedented stocks-support program.
Visit MarketCrash.news for more breaking news on the unfolding market crash.
‘Authorities too involved’
After suspending the program, however, the Chinese government has since launched a blame game and fault-finding campaign.
“The authorities have been too involved in the stock market and now they’re trying to pass the responsibilities to others,” Hu Xingdou, an economics professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology, told Bloomberg Business. “In fact, they have to be responsible for the market crisis. It’s the authorities trying to act like a referee and a player at the same time.”
Included in the government’s investigation are anyone connected to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Citic Securites Co. or Caijing magazine, on suspicion of offenses including illegal securities trading and spreading false information.
Bloomberg Business further reported:
They’re probing suspects linked to the CSRC, including a former employee, over insider trading and forging official document stamps, Xinhua said. Eight people at Citic Securities are suspected of illegal securities trading and the Caijing employees are under investigation for allegedly fabricating and spreading fake stock and futures trading information.
Also, Xinhua published a commentary urging stricter enforcement to cleanse the markets,Bloomberg Business reported.
Punish the messenger
“We have reason to believe that more criminals and their hidden crimes will be exposed,” the commentary said, as quoted by Bloomberg. “We also believe judicial departments will investigate thoroughly and impose punishments no matter who is involved in crimes.”
In addition, the Chinese government has launched a propaganda campaign blaming Western “hype” for China’s economic slowdown.
As noted by Reuters, the ruling Communist Party’s official paper, the People’s Daily, heavily criticized foreign doomsayers over their suggestion that China’s economic system would be badly shaken following the slowdown.
In a commentary published under the pen name “Zhong Sheng,” which means “Voice of China,” the writer said, “Some people around the world have rather impatiently spoken of the so-called end of the China model, or of a hidden financial crisis in China.
“Of course, Chinese people are already unsurprised by the selective thinking in Western public opinion,” the commentary added, reminding that commentators on the U.S. economy were far less alarmist after the bursting of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s.
Sources:
ZeroHedge.com
Bloomberg.com
Ca.News.Yahoo.com

Chart Of The Day: Since 12/2007—— 1.5 Million More Waiters/Bartenders, 1.4 Million Fewer Mfg. Jobs

by David Stockman
Putting this all together, since the start of the Second Great Depression, the US economy has lost 1.4 million manufacturing workers, but has more than made up for this with the addition of 1.5 million waiters and bartenders.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-04/first-drop-manufacturing-workers-over-2-years-offset-new-record-waiters-and-bartende

Jason Hartman – Will Flight Out Of Stocks Wind Up In Real Estate?

from Financial Survival Network
Jason Hartman believes that when push comes to shove and stock markets around the globe start retreating, investors will go to the world’s proven asset class, residential real estate…
Everyone needs a roof over their heads and that means that residential real estate isn’t a luxury, but rather a necessity. The risks are low if you know what you’re doing, so eventually large numbers of investors will wind up here yet again.
Click Here to Listen to the Audio

Bank Stocks Burning! Epic Rant. Game Time.