The numbers
are increasingly managed thanks to share buybacks effected off-market to
maintain their price: company share buybacks which have contributed 60% of the
increase in the S&P 500 over 18 months (see chart above); US Treasury bond
repurchases by the Fed to prevent their collapse in value through lack of
buyers; $40 billion in Fed monthly repurchases of more or less dubious
mortgages… Without which the whole economy would collapse. Wal-Mart’s example
is striking: as the sum allocated to share buybacks would allow employees
salaries to be increased by five dollars an hour, it prefers to ask its less
poor employees to give “by solidarity” to the poorest. But Wal-Mart can’t
afford to deceive the stock exchange because, if it goes bankrupt, the whole of
the American food chain would collapse since Wal-Mart represents a quarter of
US grocery sales...
This year,
Congress let about 55 different tax breaks expire on Dec. 31. The full array
includes everything from a credit for corporate R&D to tax relief for
underwater homeowners. The list also includes a batch of energy tax breaks,
like a credit for wind farms that generate electricity or a deduction for
commuters who take the bus to work. Those are now gone...
With gross
domestic product growth above 4 percent and the stock market roaring along—save
for Thursday's year-opening sell-off—the new central bank chief could have a
harder time justifying the Fed's crisis-era monetary policy...
China’s
increasingly sophisticated military will establish a joint operational command
structure for its forces to improve co-ordination between different parts of
the country’s defence system, the official China Daily reported on Friday...
Certains
sont joyeux, d'autres moins. Certains sont attendus, d'autres donnent lieu à un
véritable suspense. Panorama des événements qui feront l'actualité en 2014.
Since the
West reached a landmark deal with Iran on its controversial nuclear program
late last year, many Iranians are hoping for an end to sanctions. Western
companies are also gearing up do big business...
On January
1, Russia began its Group of Eight presidency for 2014 and will host the 40th
G8 Summit in the Olympic city of Sochi in June. This year’s G8 agenda will
focus on fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, managing conflicts and
disasters...
Houses
could become unaffordable if current levels of demand persist, Nationwide has
warned, as it said house prices had staged their biggest monthly jump in four
years...
For the
next six months, Greece holds the presidency of the European Union. The country
is virtually bankrupt, and has been bailed out several times by the EU. Now
it's in charge of the EU's daily agenda...
A l'époque, les visiteurs fantasmaient devant des prototypes
de téléphone à touches sonores (qui, incroyable, "émettent toutes un son
différent") et des "visiophones" permettant – révolution
anté-Skype – de voir sur un écran la personne au bout du fil, comme le raconte
ce reportage d'époque de l'émission "Cinq colonnes à la une"...
Founded in
1994, just after the largest agency backstopping federal student loans
collapsed, Educational Credit is now facing concerns that its tactics have
grown ruthless. A review of hundreds of pages of court documents as well as
interviews with consumer advocates, experts and bankruptcy lawyers suggest that
Educational Credit’s pursuit of student borrowers has veered more than
occasionally into dubious terrain...
Japan's
population declined by a record 244,000 people in 2013, according to health
ministry estimates. The ministry said an estimated 1,031,000 babies were born
last year - down some 6,000 from the previous year...
Give credit
to Vladimir Putin and his New York Times op-ed on Syria for sparking a new
tactic for foreign leaders hoping to influence American public opinion. In
recent weeks, Saudi Arabian political elites have followed Putin’s lead, using American
outlets to express their distaste with the West’s foreign policy, particularly
with regard to Syria and Iran...
The
expiration of benefits for 1.3 million jobless Americans this weekend will
exacerbate the worst period of chronic unemployment in post-war history, the
chairman of the White House council of economic advisers warns...
Something
unusual happened on the week in which many investors took off and may not have
even looked at their investments. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average and
the S&P 500 Index hit new all-time highs on Thursday, we now have long-term
bond yields challenging their highest levels since summer of 2011...
-------------------------------------
This
special Press Review reviews articles from the French and Engligh-speaking
international online media relating to the unfolding global crisis.
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