http://finance.yahoo.com/news/opec-decision-futile-saudi-strategy-224638255.html

Given the plunge in oil prices Friday, it’s obvious that the market was disappointed that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries didn’t cut production as many had expected. But the group’s decision won’t have a long-term impact anyway, says T. Homer Bonitsis, a finance professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

On Friday, OPEC said it would keep its production level unchanged, basically legitimizing the 1.5 million barrels a day it has been producing over its output ceiling of 30 million barrels a day. No matter. OPEC essentially is irrelevant when it comes to affecting oil prices, which are likely to fall further, said Bonitsis, associate professor of finance at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Bonitsis offered his views in the wake of the OPEC decision, an outlook for oil prices and thoughts on Saudi Arabia’s strategy to defend market share, and discussed key long-term influences for the market.

Here is an edited version of his email interview with MarketWatch:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2015/12/04/irs-power-over-passports-signed-into-law/

The passport provision is now official, as President Obama signed the 5-year infrastructure spending Bill. It adds a new section 7345 to the Internal Revenue Code. It is part of H.R. 22 – Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, the “FAST Act.” Why are passport covered in the tax code, you might ask? The title of the new section is “Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies.” The idea goes back to 2012, when the Government Accountability Office reported on the potential for using the issuance of passports to collect taxes.

It was controversial then, but this time sailed through, slipped into the massive highway funding bill, passed here. The section on passports begins on page 1,113. The joint explanatory statement is here, beginning on page 38. The law says the State Department can revoke, deny or limit passports for anyone the IRS certifies as having a seriously delinquent tax debt in an amount in excess of $50,000. Administrative details are scant. It could mean no new passport and no renewal. It could even mean the State Department will rescind existing passports.

The State Department will evidently act when the IRS tells them, and that upsets some people. We think of passports when traveling internationally, but some people may find that passports are required for domestic travel in 2016. That could make the IRS hold even more serious. The list of affected taxpayers will be compiled by the IRS. The IRS will use a threshold of $50,000 of unpaid federal taxes. But this $50,000 figure includes penalties and interest. And as everyone knows, interest and penalties can add up fast.

Notably, if you are contesting a proposed tax bill administratively with the IRS or in court, that should not count. That is not yet a tax debt. There is also an administrative exception, allowing the State Department to issue a passport in an emergency or for humanitarian reasons. But how that will work isn’t clear, nor is the amount of time it will take to get special dispensation. You would still be able to travel if your tax debt is being paid in a timely manner, as under a signed installment agreement. The rules are not limited to criminal tax cases or where the government thinks you are fleeing a tax debt.

In fact, you could have your passport revoked merely because you owe more than $50,000 and the IRS has filed a notice of lien. A $50,000 tax debt including interest and penalties is common, and the IRS files tax liens routinely. It’s the IRS way of putting creditors on notice. The IRS can file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien after the IRS assesses the liability, sends a Notice and Demand for Payment, and you fail to pay in full within 10 days.

The right to travel has been recognized as fundamental, both between states and internationally. And although some restrictions have been upheld, it is not clear that this measure will pass the constitutional test if it is challenged. Speaking of challenge, it is not off-topic to mention FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

FATCA penalizes foreign banks that don’t hand over American account holders. There are approximately eight million Americans living overseas, many of whom are still reeling from FATCA compliance problems.

This is BIG! The Basic Income Guaranty...

http://news.yahoo.com/finland-plans-every-citizen-rich-poor-870-month-002158545.html

Those struggling to make ends meet in Finland could soon get some extra cash, courtesy of the government. The Nordic nation is considering plans to hand over 800 tax-free euros to citizens every month. And it’s not just for citizens who are strapped for cash—every resident would receive a monthly payment equivalent to about $870.

The monthly €800 payment would replace all other welfare, social security programs, unemployment payments, The Independent reports. The Finnish government plans to begin testing the program in 2017.

Finland’s unemployment rate is at a 10-year high of more than 9 percent (the United States’ rate is 5.4 percent). Some fear that the basic income would be unfair, with the wealthy receiving the same amount as the poor. Others worry it might make people less eager to find work, but the monthly check is actually designed to get people back into the workforce. For many Finnish citizens, getting a part-time or low-paying job could impact their welfare benefits; leaving them worse off than if they did not work at all.

Americans face a similar problem: working 30 hours a week in several states disqualifies Americans from receiving unemployment. In countries like Germany and Italy, unemployment benefits are tied to past work, with citizens only qualifying if they have worked in the past year.

The process to receive government assistance in practically every nation is complicated—requiring dozens of forms, proof of job seeking, and the filing of weekly. A set monthly check, no strings attached, would eliminate the red tape.

“For me, a basic income means simplifying the social security system,” said Prime Minister Juha Sipila, who supports the idea, according to The Telegraph. A survey by the Finnish Social Insurance Institution found that 69 percent of citizens would prefer basic income to other benefits....

$870/mo in the US would not go far for a senior...or would everybody end up Walmart greeters?

or at least, it did when Mom was there. The most expensive things were meat, clothing and fruit (not much grows there except berries (wild strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, gooseberries, currants) and some apples. A lot of produce from France (heavenly cherries!) and Israel (citrus).

It's been 30 years, so...

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-novembers-surge-in-part-time-workers-doesnt-reflect-the-trend-2015-12-04?siteid=YAHOOB

?uuid=5492499a-9ab3-11e5-98d2-0015c588e0f6

All the new jobs created since end of recession are full time...Ne’er-do-wells point to a 319,000 leap in the number of Americans who could only find part-time work to poke a hole in an otherwise healthy jobs report for November. But the increase is almost certainly temporary and should be ignored. Here’s why. The rise in so-called involuntary part-time workers — they want a full-time job but can’t find one — followed two larger declines in October and September. The number of people stuck in part-time jobs had fallen by a combined 716,000 in the prior two months, reducing the amount of involuntary unemployed to the lowest level since mid-2008.

Yet these numbers, drawn from a survey of U.S. households, are quite volatile and can jump sharply from month to month, making them less reliable in the short run. So what about the longer-term trend? It’s pretty darned good. Since the U.S. exited recession in July 2009, the number of part-timers who want a full-time job has shrunk to 6.1 million from 9 million. These workers now account for just 4.1% of all Americans with a job, compared to a record 6.6% during the early stages of the recovery. At the same time, the number of full-time workers in the U.S. has climbed by 9.3 million to 122 million.

Put another way, the entire net increase in new jobs during the six-and-a-half year-old recovery are full-time positions (35 hours or more a week). The number of part-time workers, including those who want to work full time and those who prefer shorter hours, has actually declined. Part-time jobs totaled 27.3 million in November, down slightly from 27.5 million at the end of the Great Recession. The labor market is certainly not as strong as it was a decade ago, when the share of Americans in the workplace was much higher and wages were growing fairly strongly. But it is much easier these days to find a job — and a full-time one at that.

OPEC policy just took down Venezuela's government, so this is goal #2...I just don't think it will be that easy to bag the Bear

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-07/ruble-set-for-worst-losing-run-since-2012-as-opec-ditches-target?cmpid=yhoo.headline&ref=yfp

The ruble headed for its longest streak of declines since May 2012 after OPEC effectively abandoned output limits, spurring concern Russia will struggle to emerge from a recession as low oil prices hurt revenue in the world’s biggest energy exporter.

The Russian currency declined for a ninth day, losing 0.6 percent to 68.55 against the dollar by 10:28 a.m. in Moscow. The last time the ruble fell for as long was in May 2012, when the price of Brent sank 15 percent on concern China’s economy was slowing and as a debt crisis in Europe worsened.

Fast-forward 3 1/2 years and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has pushed crude lower after ditching its long-time strategy of limiting production to control prices at meetings in Vienna on Friday. That’s adding to concern a global crude surplus will be protracted and increase Russia’s economic pain, where oil and natural gas contribute almost half of the nation’s budget revenue.

"After the OPEC meeting it’s becoming clear that expensive oil will be hard to expect in the next few years," Vladimir Miklashevsky, strategist at Danske Bank S/A, said Monday. While oil’s trajectory is similar to May 2012, “the scale is different,” he said.

more

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-06/abu-dhabi-stocks-drop-led-by-etisalat-dubai-retreats

Dubai stocks fell to a three-week low, leading declines in most Middle Eastern markets, after OPEC decided to forgo an output reduction that might have propped up oil prices and eased the pressure on the region’s export revenues. Abu Dhabi equities dropped the most in a week.

Shares in the Middle East are catching up with Friday’s losses across emerging markets after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries kept production at about 31.5 million barrels a day, amid a glut in global oil supply.

“The market is going to continue to see some selling pressure this week” as OPEC’s decision will continue to damp sentiment, said Saleem Khokhar, who manages about $2.5 billion as head of equities at the asset management group of National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, the U.A.E.’s biggest bank. “The banking sector has been pretty aggressively sold, so we do see some real value there, although take on board it’s going to be a soft economy next year.”

The DFM General Index retreated 0.9 percent to 3,174.34, led by Dubai Islamic Bank, the second-largest weight on the gauge, which declined the most since August. The ADX General Index fell 0.9 percent. National Bank of Abu Dhabi has fallen 37 percent this year, more than five times the drop in Abu Dhabi’s gauge...

Swell way to gain friends and influence people, King!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-06/asian-stocks-poised-for-rebound-on-payrolls-oil-back-below-40

The dollar rose for a second day on speculation a strengthening U.S. economy will boost the pace at which the Federal Reserve increases interest rates. Oil fell, pulling energy-related stocks and currencies lower, after OPEC abandoned its strategy of limiting production to control prices.

The greenback rallied against all but one of its 16 major peers as investors shifted their attention to the Dec. 16 Fed policy decision after a glut of economic events pushed the U.S. currency lower last week. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed after its worst week since August and bonds in the region also rallied. U.S. crude is back below $40 a barrel after the OPEC meeting, weighing on the Norwegian krone and Russia’s ruble.

“It’s not too much about whether they are going to hike or not,” said Lutz Karpowitz, a senior currency strategist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “That’s priced in. The question is what comes afterwards.”

more

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/business/a-revolving-door-helps-big-banks-quiet-campaign-to-muscle-out-fannie-and-freddie.html?_r=0

Seven years after their dubious lending practices helped push the United States economy to the brink of disaster, the nation’s largest banks are closing in on a long-sought goal: to unseat Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants, and capture their share of the profits in the country’s $5.7 trillion home loan market.

Taking place largely behind the scenes, the movement to take over the mortgage market has been propelled in part by a revolving door between Washington and Wall Street, an investigation by The New York Times has found.

While the big banks’ effort to enshrine their vision into law has failed so far, plans to replace Fannie and Freddie — which have long supported the housing market by playing a unique role as so-called government-sponsored enterprises, or G.S.E.s — are still very much alive. The Obama administration has largely embraced the idea, and government regulators are being pushed to put crucial elements into effect.

A review of lobbying records, legal filings, and internal emails and memorandums, as well as housing officials’ calendars and White House and Treasury visitor logs, illuminates the banks’ effort. Assisting in this work, the documents show, is a group of high-level housing finance specialists who have moved back and forth between public service and private practice in recent years...

more

Hillary will tell them to cut that out.

Problem solved.

given previous performance...it should be an even bigger crash than 2008.

Say hello to mom!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/7-surprising-ways-to-cash-in-on-climate-change-152938834.html

While negotiators in Paris are busy seeking ways to combat climate change, investors on Wall Street are contemplating ways to profit from it.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch recently released a gargantuan report outlining various scenarios in which the planet warms by a little, or a lot, through the end of the century, along with financial implications and ways investors can benefit from making the right calls.

It’s no surprise a list of climate-change plays would include alternative-energy companies such as First Solar (FSLR), SolarCity (SCTY) and NextEra Energy, or electric-car makers such as Tesla (TSLA) and China’s BYD (BYDDF). But BofA’s list of 220 companies positioned to contribute to “climate change solutions”—and do well by doing good—includes many names not typically associated with planet-saving. Here are 7 sectors that could boom (or boom more) as the urgency to combat warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels intensifies:

Industrial firms such as General Electric (GE), Ingersoll Rand (IR), Honeywell (HON), Siemens (SMAWF), and Owens Corning (OC). You might think of these firms as old manufacturing polluters, but in reality they operate modern plants and build power-generating equipment, lighting, building materials, glass and other products that determine the efficiency of buildings, machinery and infrastructure. Technology breakthroughs and even small efficiency improvements in such wide-ranging products can lead to big cuts in power use and emissions.

Appliance makers, including Electrolux (ELUXF) and Whirlpool (WHR). Finding new ways to cut the power use of dishwashers, refrigerators, washers and dryers could save consumers a bundle and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Retailers such as Lowe’s (LOW) and Home Depot (HD). Buildings account for 40% of global power consumption, and improving the efficiency of heating, cooling and lighting systems usually pays for itself through reduced power usage – and lower bills -- in just a few years. Lowe’s and Home Depot will sell much of the equipment needed to modernize older structures.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM). What does Big Ag have to do with climate change? Biofuels. While not popular in the United States, fuel made from corn and other plants is a major energy source in Brazil and other populous countries. Among alternative energy industries, liquid biofuels is the second-biggest employer globally, after solar.

Auto suppliers including BorgWarner (BWA), Delphi (DLPH), Magna International (MGA) and Michelin (MGDDF). Tesla isn’t the only 21st-century car company. Many of the firms that supply components to the big automakers have expertise in lightweight technologies, turbochargers, electrification, automotive software and other systems that will be vital to future cars that pollute less. It’s also possible that hydrogen, compressed-natural gas or some other technology will turn out to be more cost-effective than electric cars or the traditional internal-combustion engine. If so, many of these suppliers will have a technology lead.

Transporters including FedEx (FDX), Bombardier (BDRBF), Rolls Royce (RYCEF), which makes jet engines, CSX (CSX) and Union Pacific (UNP). Transportation accounts for 55% of global oil use, which means efficiency gains in this sector can significantly cut greenhouse-gas emissions. “Bus and rail, in particular, are seen as solution providers, transporting more people further and faster, with lower emissions and less congestion,” BofA says in its report. More efficient jets and delivery trucks will be important, too.

Tech companies such as Apple (AAPL), Cisco (CSCO), Intel (INTL), Amazon (AMZN) and IBM (IBM). Data centers use gobs of power, with new breakthroughs needed to reduce that consumption. Other savings will come from greater connectivity, including the “smart home” and the “Internet of things.” In the home of the future, appliances, lighting, heating and cooling will be operated for maximum efficiency -- remotely, if necessary -- and be activated only when sensors detect somebody around to use them.

http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=32453&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicoutlook%2FFYvo+%28billy+blog%29

There was an article in the Fairfax press this morning (December 1, 2015) – ‘Australia headed for recession’: Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister – which featured the erstwhile finance minister stating the obvious. Last week’s investment data, which I analysed in this blog – Australia – investment spending contracts sharply, recession looming – makes it clear that unless is a substantial shift in the austerity mindset of the fiscal policy makers then the continued and accelerating contraction in private capital formation will drive the economy into recession. That conclusion is not rocket science – it is staring us in the face. When tomorrow’s National Accounts data is released we’ll know more about the trajectory of the economy in the September-quarter. But it is clear that real GDP growth is declining, and the non-mining sector of the economy is not taking up the slack that has been created by the end of the commodity prices boom which drove the mining sector strongly for several years. What was objectionable about the Fairfax article was the assertion by the erstwhile finance minister that “the recession itself would not be the problem … because some recessions are necessary”. No recession is necessary and they are always extremely damaging especially to those who disproportionately bear the consequences – aka the most disadvantaged citizens in the society.

To state another obvious fact, which I like to think is the most basic macroeconomic principle of all – spending equals income which is the result of output and employment.

Those who wish to claim that growth can come with spending cuts are in denial of reality...

Recessions are incredibly costly and totally unnecessary. The claims that they offer a bush-fire type “cleansing” to drive higher productivity in the future and increased material living standards are often made but not very strongly evidenced in the research literature.

Governments can always maintain full employment if they choose and should do so given the highly damaging effects that recessions have on individuals, which span many generations as a consequence of the inheritance of disadvantage by children in jobless households.

I am surprised that a progressive economist (so-called) is buying into the mainstream myth that recessions are not a problem.

https://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/publications/hidden_cost_of_eu_trade_deals_0.pdf

ISDS: “A report from the Friends of the Earth Europe entitled “The Hidden Cost of EU Trade Deals” revealed that even before the UK and France were hit with penalties, other EU countries had been forced to pay out hundreds of millions of euros under ISDS, and were facing claims for many billions more. A total of 127 cases have been brought against 20 EU member states since 1994. Details were only available for 62 of them—many ISDS cases take place in secret, with no information ever being released—and the total compensation claimed in those cases was €30 billion (£21 billion). ISDS tribunals certainly won’t grant that full amount, but we do know that €3.5 billion (£2.3 billion) in fines have already been imposed on EU governments—monies that ultimately must be paid by EU taxpayers”
Glynn Moody, Ars Technica http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2015/12/how-eu-nations-are-being-sued-for-billions-by-foreign-companies-in-secret-tribunals/ .

Note especially, with regard to those who minimize both the number of ISDS suits and their damages: “Many ISDS cases take place in secret, with no information ever being released.” Excellent, detailed article, read it all.

It's like quantum theory: one progresses in steps, not on a continuum

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2014/12/linda_tirado_on_the_realities_of_living_in_bootstrap_america_daily_annoyances.html



Excerpted from Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado. Out now from Putnam.

I once lost a whole truck over a few hundred bucks. It had been towed, and when I called the company they told me they’d need a few hundred dollars for the fee. I didn’t have a few hundred dollars. So I told them when I got paid next and that I’d call back then.

It was a huge pain in the ass for those days. It was the rainy season, and I wound up walking to work, adding another six miles or so a day to my imaginary pedometer. It was my own fault that I’d been towed, really, and I spent more than a couple hours ruing myself. I finally made it to payday, and when I went to get the truck, they told me that I now owed over a thousand dollars, nearly triple my paycheck. They charged a couple hundred dollars a day in storage fees. I explained that I didn’t have that kind of money, couldn’t even get it. They told me that I had some few months to get it together, including the storage for however long it took me to get it back, or that they’d simply sell it. They would, of course, give me any money above and beyond their fees if they recovered that much.

I was working two jobs at the time. Both were part time. Neither paid a hundred bucks a day, much less two...I wound up losing my jobs. So did my husband. We couldn’t get from point A to point B quickly enough, and we showed up to work, late, either soaked to the skin or sweating like pigs one too many times. And with no work, we wound up losing our apartment.

It’s amazing what things that are absolute crises for me are simple annoyances for people with money. Anything can make you lose your apartment, because any unexpected problem that pops up, like they do, can set off that Rube Goldberg device.

more

&width=175

https://www.revealnews.org/article/10-things-to-know-before-you-eat-your-next-chicken-dinner/

But eating chicken eggs is still ok?

The shells were contaminated...it was awful.

Powerboards (aka "balance gliders" or "hoverboards&quot are seemingly everywhere this season, despite being banned on public streets in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. Justin Bieber, an avid skateboarder whose entourage is equipped with balance gliders, helped the gadget rise in recognition when he Instagrammed himself playing with it while flying onboard his private jet. Recent cameos in Missy Elliott's new "WTF" music video, on Ellen's "12 Days of Giveaways", and as a viral dance video have cemented the toy as the hottest gift for Christmas 2015. But despite its [popularity]((http://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2015-06-27/things-to-do-in-america-all-50-us-states), the crackdown on the gadgets is now extending to the airport.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/why-the-hottest-gift-this-christmas-is-already-banned-from-flying/ar-AAfZJ8x?li=BBnbklE&ocid=iehp

Hoverboards are bad. Guns good.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/it-sector-shifts-work-to-bengaluru/article7942204.ece