Canada Threatens Retaliation With Billions Of Dollars Of Tariffs On US Exports If COOL Is Passed

(Dean Best)  Canada’s Agriculture Minister, Gerry Ritz, has warned the US an introduction of a voluntary scheme for country-of-origin labels on meat would be met with tariffs on imports.
After seeing plans for mandatory labels thrown out by the World Trade Organization for breaking trade rules, two US senators have tabled a bill for a voluntary programme. The US Senate is mulling the move, introduced last month by Democrat Senator for Michigan, Debbie Stabenow, and the Republican representative for North Dakota, John Hoeven.
However, the move was drawn criticism from the Canadian government, which, alongside Mexico, had turned to the WTO to block the US’s original move.
“Senators Hoeven and Stabenow’s proposal in no way reflects Canada’s voluntary labelling regime – any suggestion of this is blatantly false. ‎A voluntary regime as they propose does not require legislation. Should the United States move forward with their short-sighted proposal, Canada will have no choice but to impose billions of dollars of retaliatory tariffs on United States exports,” Ritz said.
Tabling the bill, Stabenow said the US would be able to satisfy its international trade arrangements and also “empower” consumers by providing them with access to meats labelled “product of the US”. These labels would be applied to beef, pork, chicken and ground meat products that are from animals born, raised and harvested in the US.
Ritz said US consumers would feel the impact if the measure does become law. “By continuing the segregation of and discrimination against Canadian cattle and hogs, Senators Hoeven and Stabenow’s proposed measure will continue to harm farmers, ranchers, packers, retailers and consumers. It will cost American families thousands of jobs, and guarantee Canadian retaliation,” he said.
“The only way for the United States to avoid retaliation is for the United States Senate to follow the lead of the House of Representatives and Senator Roberts and put forward legislation that repeals COOL once and for all.”
In June, the US House of Representatives repealed the existing mandatory COOL regulations after Canada and Mexico threatened US$3bn in retaliatory sanctions.
The full repeal gained the support of US meat industry body the North American Meat Institute, which praised the “full and simple repeal”. Speaking at the time, president and CEO Barry Carpenter insisted regulators could not “waste precious time debating proposals other than full and simple repeal” given the threat of trade sanctions. “Anything else jeopardises important segments of the US economy and ultimately our consumers,” he insisted.

Apple stock plummets for a fifth straight day, wiping out $113billion of its value, as the company struggles to meet raised expectations

• The world's most valuable public company saw its stock price drop for a fifth straight day on Tuesday 
• Apple shares are now down 14 percent since closing at a record $133 in February 
• That loss breaks down to $113.4billion in paper wealth 
• iPhone sales were not quite as good as some analysts predicted, and the lukewarm forecast for the current period is causing the drop

Apple is slumping as the usually high-flying tech stock struggles with the burden of raised expectations.

The world's most valuable public company saw its stock price drop for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, falling as much as $5.19 or 4.4 percent, to $113.25 as investors fretted over China's economy and whether Apple can keep growing at the pace it's maintained over the last few quarters.

Apple shares are down 14 percent since closing at a record $133 in February. That puts Apple in a 'correction,' which is Wall Street jargon for price declines of 10 percent or more from a peak.

That loss breaks down to $113.4billion in paper wealth according to USA Today. 

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Bad times: The world's most valuable public company saw its stock price drop for a fifth straight day on Tuesday (Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks above at an October 2014 event)

The stock also dropped below its 200-day moving average, a technical indicator that traders use to gauge momentum.

Apple sold more than 47 million of its signature iPhones in the last quarter, or 35 percent more than a year earlier. That drove the company's profit and earnings above Wall Street estimates. 

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But iPhone sales were not quite as good as some analysts predicted, and executives gave a lukewarm forecast for the current period. That has sent the stock into a decline since Apple reported earnings on July 21.

Shareholders are also worried about recent hiccups in China's economy, because the country is viewed as one of Apple's biggest markets for expansion, said Daniel Ives, a managing director and senior analyst for FBR Capital Markets.

He added that investors are looking ahead to the December quarter, which is traditionally Apple's strongest. The company sold 74 million iPhones during that period last year, a 46 percent jump. But it will be more difficult for Apple to show that kind of growth again.

Apple is now a 'prove me' stock for some investors, said Ives, although he added that new products like Apple Pay and the expected release of new iPhone models this fall could give the company a boost.

Donald Trump: Yellen Creating a Bubble

During an interview on Bloomberg television, Donald Trump said he thinks the low interest policy of Fed chair Janet Yellen may be creating a bubble.

He also said that he thought the position of Fed chairman was one of the most important because of its overall impact on the economy,

He said he liked Paul Volcker as Fed chairman because "he did what had to be done."

Volcker became chairman of the Fed at a time price inflation was at double digit levels. He stopped the Fed inflation by focusing on slowing money supply growth, rather than interest rates, and killed the rampant inflation of that period.

Trump also said he was against the Export-Import Bank and listed among the points that it was not free enterprise.

   -RW 

U.S. Wage Growth Slowest In 33 Years

(Profit)  Although the U.S. labor market has seen steady declines in unemployment, wage growth has ground to a near standstill, suggesting the U.S. economy is far less stable than commonly believed. The Employment Cost Index edged only 0.2% in the second quarter; the smallest gain since the index was created in 1982. The new data has stoked fears that an economic collapse is around the corner. (Source: Bloomberg, July 31, 2015.)
Analysts were optimistic after the number of job openings spiked to 5.36 million in May 2015. The rise in available positions signaled a strong recovery in near-term employment, pushing up market expectations.
A Bloomberg survey of 57 economists predicted an ECI increase of 0.6%, far above the eventual reality. But after June’s lackluster results, markets are adjusting their near-term outlook.
Specifically, an upbeat message coming out of the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday had investors convinced that a September rate hike was all but guaranteed. But analysts are estimating that the new data will force a rethink at the central bank.
While benefits for state and local government employees increased slightly from May to June, private industry workers faced a 0.2% cut in benefits last month. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 31, 2015.)
Although the Federal Reserve usually makes its monetary policy decision based on inflation concerns, the financial crisis gave birth to a second mandate; the Fed committed to low interest rates until employment had recovered.
Janet Yellen has repeatedly said that improving labor conditions were a key metric in deciding when to raise rates. While private industry workers faced a 0.2% cut in benefits last month, it seems likely that Fed policymakers will push the interest rate hike to December.  (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 31, 2015.)

Shocking: Could This Lead to an Economic Collapse in 2015?

Job numbers this depressing raise concerns about our near-term economic future. So ask yourself: how safe is your portfolio from a stock market crash? While government officials try to soothe investors’ fears with a lot of “happy talk,” new indicators suggest the U.S. economy may be on the verge of collapse. In fact, it’s starting to happen already.

Chart of doom: Greece’s bank shares plunge for third day. Now down 15%

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Holger Zschaepitz @Schuldensuehner

Chart of doom: #Greece's bank shares plunge for third day. Now down 15% http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCAKCN0QA0R520150805 …

4:06 PM - 5 Aug 2015

 

from Reuters:

Greek bank shares sold off sharply for the third day in a row on Wednesday, but losses were far less than in the previous sessions.
The main bank sector share index .FTATBNK was down 20.3 percent after losing around 30 percent on Monday and Tuesday. It meant some buyers had come into the market.
The broader market .ATG reversed small opening gains to trade 2.3 percent lower, dragged down by the banks which comprise about 20 percent of the main index.
About half of the bourse’s 25 blue-chip shares were up on the day.
“The market is looking for the bottom, we are not far away from it,” said Alexander Moraitakis, head of Athens-based Nuntius Securities.

Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/chart-of-doom-greeces-bank-shares-plunge-for-third-day-now-down-15/#DowR0C67Vk31sMPt.99

 

United States Postal Service Charging Priority Rates for Standard Service

As requested by a friend, I am sharing this experience and advisory regarding the US Postal Service.

I have to say I am not impressed with even the most basic service with USPS. We ship a fair bit of mail and it’s sometimes returned to us, rather than being shipped to the recipient’s address. If they can’t even determine the To and From addresses, what good are they? That’s a 50/50 chance of getting it to its destination.  ~ BP

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** Folks – be aware of this if you do business internationally with eBay, Amazon or other means as I just discovered this today. (July 30, 2015)

Today I was speaking with a USPS customer service rep who informed me that Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelopes and Small Boxes offer no additional service over First Class International packages except that they are priced 50-100% higher.

Although Priority mail is marketed as being a faster service with tracking, insurance included and indemnity, I have learned that a package that I shipped using this service to South Africa did not get tracked outside of the USA, nor will the USPS attempt to locate it, nor will it be covered for any insurance or indemnity in the event that it is lost.This is a clear case of fraud in that Priority mail is being marketed as a premium service when it offers, internationally, identical service as First Class International, but at a much higher price.As it stands, I shipped a $250 item via a service I thought was premium and would be safely tracked and instead I am told that the USPS is washing their hands of responsibility.The customer service rep agreed that this is ridiculous and said that they have filed complaints on others’ behalf, but nothing has changed.Again, this affects the Priority International flat rate envelopes and small flat rate boxes. I was advised to write a letter of complaint to:
The USPS Vice President of Consumer & Industry Affairs
475 l’enfant plaza SW
Room 4115
Washington, DC
20260-2200
This is fodder for a massive class action lawsuit given the amount of priority international shipments (using these services) purchased by consumers expecting a premium service and not getting it.
Please forward this along to anyone else you know, primarily those who ship internationally with any regularity.
#usps #postalinspectors #fraud #international #prioritymail #mailfraud
Thx

Gold Two Steps Forward … One Step Back: ‘Death Of Gold’ Greatly Exaggerated, Gold Rose Sharply In Years Preceding Crisis And During Crisis

by GoldCore

• ‘Death of gold’ greatly exaggerated
• Vital context: gold rose sharply in years preceding crisis and during crisis
• Important to consider gold in local currency terms
• In euro, gold is up 2% in 2015, after 13% gain in 2014
• Gold at €300 in 2001, rose to €1,400 during crisis and at €1,000 today
• History, academic and independent research shows gold is a safe haven
• Sharp fall in value of commodities means global economy is weakening

The deluge of negative publicity regarding gold in recent weeks would give one the impression that it was now worthless and serves no function in a portfolio. We believe this publicity is greatly exaggerated and will be seen as folly in the coming months.
In the years running up to the financial crisis of 2008 gold rose dramatically despite the warning signs being widely ignored. It continued to act as a reliable store of value as the crisis deepened and then began to fall back following the stability – temporary, we believe – provided by central banks creating more debt to deal with a crisis of over-indebtedness.
The negative publicity has generally focussed on the performance of the gold price in dollar terms which is not particularly relevant to investors and savers in other currencies.
Gold rose from €300 in 2000 to around €1,400 at the height of the crisis. It has since fallen back to €1,000. In this context, one can see that gold’s function as a store of value and as a safe haven is still clearly evident. Gold’s recent performance in euro terms has been reasonably strong with a very respectable 13% rise last year and 2% gains so far this year.
image: http://www.goldcore.com/ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/08/gold_price_05-08-2015.png?b0bda3
History, academic research and independent research show unequivocally that gold acts as a safe haven. As GoldCore’s research director Mark O’Byrne pointed out onRTE Radio 1’s Morning Ireland this morning [click to listen] gold has an inverse relationship to other financial instruments.
The recent negative publicity points out that gold should have seen gains during the recent crisis in Greece and thus failed to act as a safe haven. This is not strictly correct. The uncertainty caused by the crisis should equally have caused stock markets and bond markets to falter. They did not and therefore gold’s inverse relationship to these assets was never tested.
Mark also made the point that the sharp drop in the value of commodities in recent months should not be viewed as a triumph for non-tangible assets such as stocks and bonds. Indeed it indicates latent weakness in the global economy and possible trouble on the horizon.
“It’s interesting because the fall in value of all commodities and oil prices suggests that the global economy is much, much weaker than people actually think and that should give pause for concern in terms of the outlook in the coming months.”
The lower price for gold at this time should be viewed as an opportunity to acquire physical gold as a financial insurance against the unresolved debt crisis which must assert itself again in the coming months or years and may be imminent.
Mark, let’s go through the price movements with regard to gold over the past few years. We’ve seen it go from $700 to $1,900 during the financial crisis and it has come back to about $1,100?
Exactly, yes, and more important for Irish people, it’s important to think in local currency terms – which is obviously euros for Irish people – so there has been a similar big price move in euro terms. It actually went from €300 in the year 2000 to €1,400 at the height of the financial crisis after Lehman Brothers and indeed then the euro-zone debt crisis. So it’s very much a case of two steps forward in the early part of the decade and then one step backwards in recent months and years and we’ve had a very sharp correction, particularly in dollar terms. It’s actually more a story of dollar strength rather than gold weakness because gold in euro terms is actually up 14% last year and this year gold is actually up in euro terms but you wouldn’t know that from the headlines. It’s up 2% so far in 2015.
We had the Greek situation in July and a fall in [gold] price in July. Might we have expected to see it go up in July because of that Greek situation?
Yeah, absolutely, and I think a lot of people were scratching their heads. It is a safe haven asset – there is a huge body of academic research and indeed independent research from asset allocation experts who have shown that gold is a safe haven asset. It has an inverse relation so it goes up when everything else is going down. I suppose the Greek crisis did not lead to a correction in the stock markets and bond markets as some people were expecting and therefore that could be a reason that gold did not react as people expected.
Also, physical demand did increase but it didn’t increase hugely. There was a lot of safe haven buying going on particularly out of Germany because the Germans are worried about what is going to happen to the euro and, of course, in Greece itself. But also, there wasn’t any sudden selling of gold by central banks or investors in physical coins and bars. The selling was actually on the futures market so a lot of the speculative money that’s in the global financial system – which is a bit of a casino – and the hedge funds are momentum-driven and they follow trends. The trend in the gold price has been down in recent months and these guys are shorting the marketplace and pushing prices lower.
We also had the situation in China with very heavy losses in stock markets in July and that was accompanied by pressure on commodities. Why was that the case?
China is one of the biggest economies in the world with 1.3 billion people and a growing middle class and the narrative was that this is creating huge demand for commodities – as it was – as China industrialises. Now obviously there are concerns about China and we would have serious concerns about the Chinese economy going forward given – like most economies – a lot of the growth has been driven by huge increases in debt levels and obviously we’ve seen property markets there fall quite a bit in most of the cities around China and then we’ve had the huge wallop on the stock market over there. So people are beginning to question that story. It’s interesting because the fall in value of all commodities and oil prices suggests that the global economy is much, much weaker than people actually think and that should give pause for concern in terms of the outlook in the coming months.
You can listen to the full interview with Mark O’Byrne RTE’s Morning Ireland website.