Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Real Crash

I first came to national attention back in 2008 and 2009 when the housing and credit markets imploded. I became known as the guy that other market "experts" laughed at when I warned of trouble brewing in the seemingly indestructible American economy. After the wheels ground to a halt in mid-2008, people noticed that my book Crash Proof, originally released in early 2007, read like a detailed preview of many of the events that eventually unfolded.

Three years later I am now catching heat from many who assume that my predictions actually fell short. They argue that I was able to anticipate the crash but that I severely underestimated the resiliency of the American economy. They admit that we took an "unexpected" blow to the chin, and that it left a lingering bruise, but they argue that we never hit the canvas like I predicted we would.

However, they mistakenly assumed that the crash I was warning about was solely a housing led credit bubble. While that was part of it, I never saw it ending there. The crash that most concerned me was the one that would result from the government's response to the initial crisis. My concern was not that our economy would succumb to the disease that I had diagnosed, but instead would be taken down by the "cure" that the government unleashed to combat it.

When the government's delaying tactic, which involves continuous debt accumulation and money printing is no longer tenable, the dollar could collapse, borrowing costs and consumer prices could soar and the U.S. economy could implode. That's the real crash that I was warning about, and the one we all need to be worried about now.

This is the subject of my new book "The Real Crash: America's Coming Bankruptcy, How to Save Yourself and Your Country." For now it is just a prophecy but as with my first book, it soon may be regarded as history. Unfortunately, the policies of both the Bush and Obama administrations, and the Ben Bernanke led Federal Reserve, have vastly raised the chances that my catastrophic view will come to pass. However, it's not all gloom and doom - I devote a large majority of the book to solutions. The real crash may be inevitable, but what we do in response is not. We can follow on the path that I recommend back to prosperity, or we can continue on our current course which I believe will lead to economic ruin.

When looking back from a point in the future, I believe that the years immediately after the credit collapse of 2008 will stand out as a period of dangerous economic negligence. We have bought ourselves some time by sweeping enormous problems under the rug. Through a combination of political cowardice, economic ignorance, and false confidence, we are digging ourselves into a hole so deep that it may take generations to crawl out.

Most people assume that half way through 2012 we have made some important positive strides since flirting with the brink of economic catastrophe in the dark days of 2008. Although no one is wildly celebrating the below trend 2 to 3 percent GDP growth, we are continuously reminded that we have turned the corner and that our situation is better than many other regions around the world. But what has really changed?

Immediately prior to the crash, the United States economy was experiencing unprecedented consumer debt levels, persistently high trade deficits, historically large government budget deficits, high-energy prices, and a moribund manufacturing sector. Four years later, all of these problems have gotten worse. And unlike four years ago, we are now saddled with the highest unemployment rate in generations and levels of public debt that would have been unimaginable then. Yes we are no longer technically in recession. But I believe that is just an illusion created by perhaps the cheapest, and most obvious, trick ever devised.

I had argued that our economic growth prior to the crisis was largely a function of the real estate bubble. When that bubble popped, I knew that the economy would have to shrink. And that's just what happened. From 2008 to 2009 our national GDP (of around $14 trillion) contracted by $212 billion. To prevent any further dips, the government aggressively spent, borrowing heavily to do so. To the relief of just about everyone, these moves did stop the nominal contraction. From 2010 to 2011 the U.S. GDP expanded by $502 billion, and from 2011 to 2012 it added an additional $508 billion. All told, from the end of 2008 the U.S. economy added a cumulative $798 billion in GDP. But those gains came at a very high price.

The combined federal deficits for the same time frame come in at a staggering $4.2 trillion! In 2009 alone the feds chalked up a chart breaking $1.4 trillion in debt (the deficit was a mere $161 billion in 2007). In other words, we borrowed five times more than we grew. This "strategy" for growth is no different from an individual who loses half his income, but continues to spend by running up credit card debt. Could this be described as economic growth? But that's just how we are describing our current economy, and for the large part, expert economists, politicians, investors, and academics all agree.

I felt certain before writing Crash Proof that the government would never let the economy contract far enough to restore balance and sustainability. I knew the spending and deficits would head off the charts. I thought those realities would push down the dollar and cause foreign creditors to shun American government debt. However, I did not factor in the reprieve we have gotten from the false perception that Europe is in even worse shape than we.

As the curtain eventually falls on the drama unfolding in Europe, the world will refocus its attention on the more spectacular events in the U.S. The sovereign debt crisis that is now playing out in Europe will cross the Atlantic, and when it opens here the Real Crash may indeed finally begin. The average American will have a front row seat but will hardly enjoy the show.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Real Crash is coming, says Peter Schiff

INTERNATIONAL. I first came to national attention back in 2008 and 2009 when the housing and credit markets imploded. I became known as the guy that other market “experts” laughed at when I warned of trouble brewing in the seemingly indestructible American economy.
After the wheels ground to a halt in mid-2008, people noticed that my book Crash Proof, originally released in early 2007, read like a detailed preview of many of the events that eventually unfolded.

Three years later I am now catching heat from many who assume that my predictions actually fell short. They argue that I was able to anticipate the crash but that I severely underestimated the resiliency of the American economy. They admit that we took an “unexpected” blow to the chin, and that it left a lingering bruise, but they argue that we never hit the canvas like I predicted we would.

However, they mistakenly assumed that the crash I was warning about was solely a housing led credit bubble. While that was part of it, I never saw it ending there. The crash that most concerned me was the one that would result from the government’s response to the initial crisis. My concern was not that our economy would succumb to the disease that I had diagnosed, but instead would be taken down by the “cure” that the government unleashed to combat it.

When the government’s delaying tactic, which involves continuous borrowing and money printing is no longer tenable, the dollar could collapse, interest rates and consumer prices could soar and the U.S. economy could implode. That’s the real crash that I was warning about, and the one we all need to be worried about now.

This is the subject of my new book “The Real Crash: America’s Coming Bankruptcy, How to Save Yourself and Your Country.”  For now it is just a prophecy but as with my first book, it soon may be regarded as history. Unfortunately, the policies of both the Bush and Obama administrations, and the Ben Bernanke led Federal Reserve, have vastly raised the chances that my catastrophic view will come to pass. 
However, it’s not all gloom and doom — I devote a large majority of the book to solutions. The real crash may be inevitable, but what we do in response is not. We can follow on the path that I recommend back to prosperity, or we can continue on our current course which I believe will lead to economic ruin.

When looking back from a point in the future, I believe that the years immediately after the credit collapse of 2008 will stand out as a period of dangerous economic negligence. We have bought ourselves some time by sweeping enormous problems under the rug. Through a combination of political cowardice, economic ignorance, and false confidence, we are digging ourselves into a hole so deep that it may take generations to crawl out.

Most people assume that half way through 2012 we have made some important positive strides since flirting with the brink of economic catastrophe in the dark days of 2008. Although no one is wildly celebrating the below trend 2 to 3 percent GDP growth, we are continuously reminded that we have turned the corner and that our situation is better than many other regions around the world. But what has really changed?

Immediately prior to the crash, the United States economy was experiencing unprecedented consumer debt levels, persistently high trade deficits, historically large government budget deficits, high-energy prices, and a moribund manufacturing sector. Four years later, all of these problems have gotten worse.
And unlike four years ago, we are now saddled with the highest unemployment rate in generations and levels of public debt that would have been unimaginable then. Yes we are no longer technically in recession. But I believe that is just an illusion created by perhaps the cheapest, and most obvious, trick ever devised.

I had argued that our economic growth prior to the crisis was largely a function of the real estate bubble. When that bubble popped, I knew that the economy would have to shrink. And that’s just what happened. From 2008 to 2009 our national GDP (of around $14 trillion) contracted by $212 billion.
To prevent any further dips, the government aggressively spent, borrowing heavily to do so. To the relief of just about everyone, these moves did stop the nominal contraction. From 2010 to 2011 the U.S. GDP expanded by $502 billion, and from 2011 to 2012 it added an additional $508 billion. All told, from the end of 2008 the U.S. economy added a cumulative $798 billion in GDP. But those gains came at a very high price.

The combined federal deficits for the same time frame come in at a staggering $4.2 trillion! In 2009 alone the feds chalked up a chart breaking $1.4 trillion in debt (the deficit was a mere $161 billion in 2007). In other words, we borrowed five times more than we grew.
This “strategy” for growth is no different from an individual who loses half his income, but continues to spend by running up credit card debt. Could this be described as economic growth? But that’s just how we are describing our current economy, and for the large part, expert economists, politicians, investors, and academics all agree.

I felt certain before writing Crash Proof that the government would never let the economy contract far enough to restore balance and sustainability. I knew the spending and deficits would head off the charts. I thought those realities would push down the dollar and cause foreign creditors to shun American government debt. However, I did not factor in the reprieve we have gotten from the false perception that Europe is in even worse shape than we.

As the curtain eventually falls on the drama unfolding in Europe, the world will refocus its attention on the more spectacular events in the U.S. The sovereign debt crisis that is now playing out in Europe will cross the Atlantic, and when it opens here The Real Crash may indeed finally begin. The average American will have a front row seat but will hardly enjoy the show.

Peter Schiff’s Latest Comments About Gold and Gold Stocks (GLD, IAU, SLV, GDX, GDXJ, GG, ABX, KGC, AUY)

Dominique de Kevelioc de Bailleul: With the dismal performance of gold stocks testing the patience of even hardcore gold bugs, Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff believes investors should not panic and sell, but hold on, the bottom in the gold mining stocks is probably in.
And if the bottom is not in, hold on anyway.
“We could see another 10% pop in a week or two in the mining shares,” Schiff told King World News on May 23.  “There’s a very good chance that the bottom is in, especially if we can get a rally in gold.”
At this time, it may be worth repeating a famous quote from economist John Maynard Keynes: “The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.”  On the way up and on the way down, markets can mis-price assets to ridiculous levels for longer periods of time than appears rational.  Today, it’s the U.S. dollar, U.S. Treasury market and gold, which have been mis-priced for so long.
“Right now the U.S. dollar has been rising because of worries about Europe, but the dollar is sicker than the euro,” Schiff said.  “So both currencies should be falling against gold and gold should be taking off here.”
To put into better context how “sick” the U.S. dollar really is, consider an article penned by USA Today journalist Dennis Cauchon, who outlined in his May 23rd piece the horrific fiscal shortfalls in Washington—a fiscal debacle so large that economist John Williams of ShadowStats.com expects hyperinflation in America some time in 2014 as global investors might eventually witness 100 percent Fed monetization of fresh U.S. Treasury debt.
Under the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) rules of reporting financial disclosures, “the [U.S. budget] deficit was $5 trillion last year under those rules,” stated Cauchon.  “The official number was $1.3 trillion. Liabilities for Social Security, Medicare and other retirement programs rose by $3.7 trillion in 2011, according to government actuaries, but the amount was not registered on the government’s books.”
Whether investors are aware of the fraudulent U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) accounting, or not, the reality of millions of baby boomers retiring each year and the growing budget deficits that come with an aging population will reach an inflection point, whereby investors of all stripes come to expect money printing as a way of life and begin trotting, then running, to gold and the gold shares in an effort to protect from a Greece-like financial collapse.
And the quick-fix to Washington deficits through Fed ‘stimulus’ and the higher tax receipts that result from a U.S. “bubble economy” has finally reached that ‘Minsky Moment’, according to Schiff.  After trillions of dollars of Fed stimulus since 2009, the economy just isn’t responding like it had for nearly 70 years of Fed intervention—a prediction made by 20th century economists Hyman Minsky and Ludwig von Mises, among others, of the ramifications of chronic central bank money supply injections.
“The market is just rolling over, as it’s coming to grips with the fact that the fantasy they believed in is just that: fantasy,” Schiff said in an earlier KWN interview of May 18th, referring to the recently reported poor economic numbers from Washington and private sources.  “It’s not reality.”
Schiff went on to say that gold—and by extension gold shares—will rise “as investors realize that QE3 [quantitative easing] is coming, because the Fed has already said that.  If the economy needs it, it’s going to get it.  And the economy is addicted to it [stimulus].  I mean, this economy needs QE like a heroin addict needs another fix.”
Back to the May 23rd interview:  Schiff suggested that the relative strength of the HUI index of mining shares to the gold price so far this week indicates to him a bottom is in and a buying opportunity is at hand.   As far as the gold mining shares, “we could have a pretty serious up-move in the gold stocks in a very short period of time.”
Related Tickers: SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD), iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:IAU), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX), iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG), Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX), Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC), Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY).

Monday, May 28, 2012

Peter Schiff: The Real Crash

I first came to national attention back in 2008 and 2009 when the housing and credit markets imploded. I became known as the guy that other market “experts” laughed at when I warned of trouble brewing in the seemingly indestructible American economy. After the wheels ground to a halt in mid-2008, people noticed that my book Crash Proof, originally released in early 2007, read like a detailed preview of many of the events that eventually unfolded.
Three years later I am now catching heat from many who assume that my predictions actually fell short. They argue that I was able to anticipate the crash but that I severely underestimated the resiliency of the American economy. They admit that we took an “unexpected” blow to the chin, and that it left a lingering bruise, but they argue that we never hit the canvas like I predicted we would.
However, they mistakenly assumed that the crash I was warning about was solely a housing led credit bubble. While that was part of it, I never saw it ending there. The crash that most concerned me was the one that would result from the government’s response to the initial crisis. My concern was not that our economy would succumb to the disease that I had diagnosed, but instead would be taken down by the “cure” that the government unleashed to combat it.
When the government’s delaying tactic, which involves continuous borrowing and money printing is no longer tenable, the dollar could collapse, interest rates and consumer prices could soar and the U.S. economy could implode. That’s the real crash that I was warning about, and the one we all need to be worried about now.
This is the subject of my new book “The Real Crash: America’s Coming Bankruptcy, How to Save Yourself and Your Country.”  For now it is just a prophecy but as with my first book, it soon may be regarded as history. Unfortunately, the policies of both the Bush and Obama administrations, and the Ben Bernanke led Federal Reserve, have vastly raised the chances that my catastrophic view will come to pass.  However, it’s not all gloom and doom — I devote a large majority of the book to solutions. The real crash may be inevitable, but what we do in response is not. We can follow on the path that I recommend back to prosperity, or we can continue on our current course which I believe will lead to economic ruin.
When looking back from a point in the future, I believe that the years immediately after the credit collapse of 2008 will stand out as a period of dangerous economic negligence. We have bought ourselves some time by sweeping enormous problems under the rug. Through a combination of political cowardice, economic ignorance, and false confidence, we are digging ourselves into a hole so deep that it may take generations to crawl out.
Most people assume that half way through 2012 we have made some important positive strides since flirting with the brink of economic catastrophe in the dark days of 2008. Although no one is wildly celebrating the below trend 2 to 3 percent GDP growth, we are continuously reminded that we have turned the corner and that our situation is better than many other regions around the world. But what has really changed?
Immediately prior to the crash, the United States economy was experiencing unprecedented consumer debt levels, persistently high trade deficits, historically large government budget deficits, high-energy prices, and a moribund manufacturing sector. Four years later, all of these problems have gotten worse. And unlike four years ago, we are now saddled with the highest unemployment rate in generations and levels of public debt that would have been unimaginable then. Yes we are no longer technically in recession. But I believe that is just an illusion created by perhaps the cheapest, and most obvious, trick ever devised.
I had argued that our economic growth prior to the crisis was largely a function of the real estate bubble. When that bubble popped, I knew that the economy would have to shrink. And that’s just what happened. From 2008 to 2009 our national GDP (of around $14 trillion) contracted by $212 billion. To prevent any further dips, the government aggressively spent, borrowing heavily to do so. To the relief of just about everyone, these moves did stop the nominal contraction. From 2010 to 2011 the U.S. GDP expanded by $502 billion, and from 2011 to 2012 it added an additional $508 billion. All told, from the end of 2008 the U.S. economy added a cumulative $798 billion in GDP. But those gains came at a very high price.
The combined federal deficits for the same time frame come in at a staggering $4.2 trillion! In 2009 alone the feds chalked up a chart breaking $1.4 trillion in debt (the deficit was a mere $161 billion in 2007). In other words, we borrowed five times more than we grew. This “strategy” for growth is no different from an individual who loses half his income, but continues to spend by running up credit card debt. Could this be described as economic growth? But that’s just how we are describing our current economy, and for the large part, expert economists, politicians, investors, and academics all agree.
I felt certain before writing Crash Proof that the government would never let the economy contract far enough to restore balance and sustainability. I knew the spending and deficits would head off the charts. I thought those realities would push down the dollar and cause foreign creditors to shun American government debt. However, I did not factor in the reprieve we have gotten from the false perception that Europe is in even worse shape than we.
As the curtain eventually falls on the drama unfolding in Europe, the world will refocus its attention on the more spectacular events in the U.S. The sovereign debt crisis that is now playing out in Europe will cross the Atlantic, and when it opens here The Real Crash may indeed finally begin. The average American will have a front row seat but will hardly enjoy the show.

Peter Schiff’s Latest Comments About Gold and Gold Stocks

With the dismal performance of gold stocks testing the patience of even hardcore gold bugs, Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff believes investors should not panic and sell, but hold on, the bottom in the gold mining stocks is probably in.
And if the bottom is not in, hold on anyway.
“We could see another 10% pop in a week or two in the mining shares,” Schiff told King World News on May 23.  “There’s a very good chance that the bottom is in, especially if we can get a rally in gold.”
At this time, it may be worth repeating a famous quote from economist John Maynard Keynes: “The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.”  On the way up and on the way down, markets can mis-price assets to ridiculous levels for longer periods of time than appears rational.  Today, it’s the U.S. dollar, U.S. Treasury market and gold, which have been mis-priced for so long. “Right now the U.S. dollar has been rising because of worries about Europe, but the dollar is sicker than the euro,” Schiff said.  “So both currencies should be falling against gold and gold should be taking off here.”
To put into better context how “sick” the U.S. dollar really is, consider an article penned by USA Today journalist Dennis Cauchon, who outlined in his May 23rd piece the horrific fiscal shortfalls in Washington—a fiscal debacle so large that economist John Williams of ShadowStats.com expects hyperinflation in America some time in 2014 as global investors might eventually witness 100 percent Fed monetization of fresh U.S. Treasury debt.
Under the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) rules of reporting financial disclosures, “the [U.S. budget] deficit was $5 trillion last year under those rules,” stated Cauchon.  “The official number was $1.3 trillion. Liabilities for Social Security, Medicare and other retirement programs rose by $3.7 trillion in 2011, according to government actuaries, but the amount was not registered on the government’s books.”
Whether investors are aware of the fraudulent U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) accounting, or not, the reality of millions of baby boomers retiring each year and the growing budget deficits that come with an aging population will reach an inflection point, whereby investors of all stripes come to expect money printing as a way of life and begin trotting, then running, to gold and the gold shares in an effort to protect from a Greece-like financial collapse.
And the quick-fix to Washington deficits through Fed ‘stimulus’ and the higher tax receipts that result from a U.S. “bubble economy” has finally reached that ‘Minsky Moment’, according to Schiff.  After trillions of dollars of Fed stimulus since 2009, the economy just isn’t responding like it had for nearly 70 years of Fed intervention—a prediction made by 20th century economists Hyman Minsky and Ludwig von Mises, among others, of the ramifications of chronic central bank money supply injections.
“The market is just rolling over, as it’s coming to grips with the fact that the fantasy they believed in is just that: fantasy,” Schiff said in an earlier KWN interview of May 18th, referring to the recently reported poor economic numbers from Washington and private sources.  “It’s not reality.”
Schiff went on to say that gold—and by extension gold shares—will rise “as investors realize that QE3 [quantitative easing] is coming, because the Fed has already said that.  If the economy needs it, it’s going to get it.  And the economy is addicted to it [stimulus].  I mean, this economy needs QE like a heroin addict needs another fix.”
Back to the May 23rd interview:  Schiff suggested that the relative strength of the HUI index of mining shares to the gold price so far this week indicates to him a bottom is in and a buying opportunity is at hand.   As far as the gold mining shares, “we could have a pretty serious up-move in the gold stocks in a very short period of time.”

Peter Schiff: Next President will preside over the economic collapse

On May 21st, Coast to Coast AM aired a special Financial Crisis show, with several different financial and economic analysts appearing during the four hour broadcast. During the second hour, investment advisor Peter Schiff appeared as a guest and laid out the inevitable path of America's financial future. Focusing primarily on our country's debt, and the unsustainabilty of the dollar to hold back inflation, Shiff predicted that no matter who wins the Presidency in November, that individual will be presiding over an economic crash that will make 2008 pale in comparison.  

George Norry: When I was 20 years old Peter, and that was a long time ago, I kept looking at the cost of living increase every year, and I used to say there is no way, 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 years from now, it can sustain this kind of growth rate. There is no way these things can continue to grow at this percent. Prices and everything else... It's got to collapse one day. Peter Schiff: Oh no, we don't have... I'ts going to happen. Whoever wins this presidential election is going to preside over this collapse. GN: Whether they want to or not. PS: We cannot postpone it anymore. The numbers are just too big. - Coast to Coast AM, May 21st

 Peter Schiff is an analyst and advisor with a strong track record of understanding economic trends. He predicted the bursting of the housing bubble well before 2007, and has spoken out continuously on the Fed's monetization and zero interest rate policies (ZIRP) over the past four years. These Fed actions have in his opinion, made the coming collapse much worse than 2008 because now inflation and the dollar are beyond repair. Later in the program, Peter Schiff was asked by the host if our politicians had the stomach to do what was necessary to bring our economic ship back on course. The proposed solutions to accomplish this entailed 20 years of dedicated austerity for the American people, and a paying off of the nearly $16 trillion in debt obligations by the government. His answer was a resounding no, as both politicians and the public are too bound by easy money, and the bureaucratic welfare state. A prime example of this was made when the subject turned to jobs in America, and how a record number of unemployed men were now applying for disability benefits since they were unable to find work in the economy. America's economy and the dollar are simply the least ugly horse in the glue factory at the moment, with pressure being focused more on Europe and the Euro due to their accelerating debt collapse. However, both the Federal Reserve and the Federal government are not using this respite to deal with our growing budget deficits, or in finding policies that create meaningful employment to create a real growth model not based on borrowing and monetization. Within one year, over one third of the $16 trillion dollars in borrowed money will be coming due, and with inflation accelerating due to years of near zero interest rates, the ability of the government to rollover or pay off that maturing debt is near impossible. Peter Schiff forecasts that the next President will preside over the economic collapse of the United States, and he believes it is now inevitable since our government no longer has the will or stomach to do what is necessary to avoid it.

Peter Schiff Endorses Chris Shays for Senate

Schiff, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2010, says the former Congressman would win the Senate seat if he's the GOP nominee.
Peter Schiff, who ran unsuccessfuly for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2010, has endorsed former Congressman Christopher Shays for the nomination in this November's election.
Schiff, a Weston resident and CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, said that Connecticut's Republicans would be foolish to hand the nomination back to Linda McMahon, who ran unsuccessfully against Senator Dick Blumenthal in 2010.
 "Unfortunately, too many Republicans [at the state convention in 2010] believed the vast amount of money that Linda was prepared to spend was going to be her biggest asset," Schiff said in a video uploaded to Shays' campaign site. "It became her biggest liability."
Schiff said Connecticut voters did not want to put the Senate seat up for sale in 2010 and will act the same way this year.
Though he said he originally planned to stay neutral during this campaign, Schiff said that since it appears Republican voters are going to give the nomination to McMahon again, he decided to break his silence.
"The stakes are too high to throw away a Senate seat," he said. "We handed one to Dick Blumenthal. We don't want to hand one to Chris Murphy."
Schiff said that while some voters might consider Shays a RINO—he was known as a moderate during his 21 years representing Connecticut's 4th Congressional District—that's simply not the case.
"Chris has assured me that he is going to fight for the principles we hold dear," he said. "He understands the problems" of runaway government spending.
Schiff said that because of Shays' experience in Congress, he'll be ready to get to work on day one and won't require on-the-job training.
"He knows how to get things done in Washington," he said. "Other Senators will take Chris Shays seriously from day one."
Schiff said he has nothing against McMahon—he likes her—but she's proven she's incapable of winning.
"Why should we make the same mistake twice and nominate someone who can’t win," he said.
Shays—who also earned Dick Morris' endorsement—will make Connecticut's residents proud, Schiff said.
"I think he’s going to make us proud. All we have to do is give him that opportunity."

Saturday, May 26, 2012

USA: pressure from pension funds on corporate diversity policy


The administrator of the pension fund of the City of New York, shareholders of publicly traded large groups, is campaigning for greater diversity in the workplace.Message received at Goldman Sachs and Metlife.
The managers of five pension funds in New York are pushing the agenda of diversity in large listed companies. Goldman Sachs and insurance giant Metlife life and have promised to publish the statistics in the spring of their group on sex and race of their employees.Demand of pension funds was initiated by John Liu, the Financial Controller of the City of New York, who is also director of New York City Employees 'Retirement System, the pension funds of city officials, the Teachers' Retirement System, the Teachers Fund, New York City Police Pension Fund, the fund police, New York City Fire Department pension fund, the fund for firefighters and ultimately the Board of Education Retirement System, the funding of educational administrators .. . These organizations together manage more than $ 118 billion. And they have significant shares in Fortune 500, the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies.
Poor figures
In total, five pension funds accumulate 1.2 million shares of Goldman Sachs and 2.3 million shares at Metlife. These institutional investors are powerful enough to attract the attention of large groups of the New York Stock Exchange ... and try to influence their strategy. Hence the spotlight on diversity in business. "  Many companies say they are making efforts to recruit, retain and promote women and minorities  , "said John Him. "  But without statistical figures, shareholders can not assess the effectiveness of these efforts.  "The Controller of the City of New York decided to more closely follow the strategy pursued by the major financial industry and advertising Two sectors traditionally laggards on diversity.John Liu cites statistics from the Government Accountability Office: 64% of management positions in finance are held by white men.Women hold only 27% of these positions and minorities less than 10%. The black frames are just 2.8% in finance, 3% Hispanics and Asians 3.5%. And the gap between white and minority men has not changed in 15 years.
The advertising industry is not better off. A 2009 survey by the firm Bendick and Egan concludes that the gap between minorities and the other is twice as high as 30 years ago! 16% of large advertising agencies have no part coming from the black community. And young black students who start their career in this industry earn an average 80 cents for every dollar pocketed by their white counterparts. With these statistics, the managers of pension funds have decided to focus on some great values ​​in finance and advertising in which they hold shares. Finance side, they turned to Goldman Sachs, and MetLife insurance leader AIG (1,134,000 shares). Advertising side, they have set their sights on Omnicom (708,906 titles), Interpublic (1,682,000 shares), WPP (1,398,000 shares) and French Publicis (555,528 titles).
Publication of statistics on diversity
Objective: to publish statistics on the company's origin, gender and job type. These data are already collected under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and sent to the government. But the public does not have access. The directions of Goldman Sachs and Metlife have decided to play the transparency.Statistics from Goldman Sachs will be published on the Internet in June's report Environment, Social and Governance.
The site of Metlife, will grow well in the spring of diversity data. The AIG has not yet given an answer, but discussions are ongoing. The financial players seem to want to play the game "We have made ​​steady progress over time, says Frans Hijkoop, the human resources manager at Metlife. And we want to continue on our progress in promoting diversity. "
Advertising agencies, however, resist the call controller. John He will then vote on his proposal at the next annual shareholder meeting of the American group Omnicom, a San Francisco May 22
The administrator of the pension funds of New York officials want to advance the cause through shareholder activism. A few weeks before its proposal on diversity, he pleaded for more independence in boards. He has asked the cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris International and pharmaceutical group Mylan, generic specialist, to separate the positions of Chairman of the Board and CEO of the company. Independence and diversity are the two main topics of the moment.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Peter David Schiff is really an United states businessman, investment dealer, author as well as financial commentator too, as CEO together with chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer situated in Westport, Connecticut and CEO of Euro Pacific Precious Metals, LLC, a silver and gold dealer headquartered in New york. Schiff regularly shows up as a guest on economical tv and is also often quoted within key fiscal books. One is proprietor of The Peter Schiff Show, a radio stations expo broadcast on earthbound and world wide web radio. He is a consistent invitee on internet radio as well as the host of the former podcast Wall Street Unspun. In 2010 Schiff came as an applicant within the Republican main for the United States Senate seat coming from Connecticut. Schiff is well known for his bearish opinions about the dollar and dollar denominated assets, while energetic on expenditure in tangible resources in addition to overseas stocks and foreign currencies.

Peter Schiff stated man's belief that much like the countries in the southern part of The european union, the usa uses far more than precisely what it creates. But instead of closing the actual gap simply by producing extra as well as consuming less, both have used a less distressing way. They've beg instead. Who will place responsibilitycondemn them all? After all, it is more pleasant to eat rather than create. So that as we have observed in numerous economical circles, a debtor will certainly tend to acquire for as long as a loan provider is prepared to provide, especially if you will find no immediate negative implications. The two Germany along with China generate a lot more than these use. It really is coming from these types of resulting extra materials that the deficit nations are generally applying for. But both of these creditor nations are currently demonstrating distinctive policy drifts with respect to their own hard-earned savings. As per Schiff, in Europe, German frontrunners tend to be displaying growing reluctance to compromise the actual existing standards of their very own inhabitants to keep going an unbalanced financial system. The Chinese however appear to heartily inspire this kind of policy. This particular variation can be related to their own respective political models. Inside Germany, public viewpoint is so important. In China, not really. Schiff shared his own viewpoint in which the guy having the jewelry can make the principles. In the current global economic climate, very few countries have the gold and eventually we will be surviving by their particular guidelines.

The advanced level of taxation places American corporations at an obvious setback vis-a-vis businesses in the countries in opposition to which we're most keenly contending. In China, the slicing of this cake is much more advantageous towards executives. There, corporations are taxed at a rate of 25% and dividends at 10%. It's a shame that the country which was once the flare of freedom and fiscal liberty no more has the ability to identify exactly what capitalism really looks like, feels Peter Schiff . Unless corporate executives tend to be suitably honored for their risks, U.S. corporations is not going to restore their wasted prominence, Us citizens will not regain their own lost liberty, and their lifestyle will certainly go on to slide. Since it appears right now, the United States has become a people from the federal government, by the government and also, most importantly, for that government.
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