Family Net Worth Drops to Level of Early ’90s, Fed Says
June 11th, 2012Via: New York Times:
The recent financial crisis left the median American family in 2010 with no more wealth than they had in the early 1990s, erasing almost two decades of accumulated prosperity, the Federal Reserve said Monday.
The median family, richer than half of the nation’s families and poorer than the other half, had a net worth of $77,300 in 2010, down from $126,400 in 2007, the Fed said. The crash of housing prices explained three-quarters of the loss.
This vast loss of wealth was compounded by a loss of income, as the earnings of the median family fell by 7.7 percent over the same period.
The new data come from the Fed’s much-anticipated release Monday of its triennial Survey of Consumer Finance, one of the broadest and deepest sources of information about the financial health of American families. The latest survey is based on data collected in 2010. Figures are reported in 2010 dollars.
Unsurprisingly, the report is full of grim news, and although it is news from 18 months ago, fresher sources of economic data make clear that most households have since seen only modest increases, at best, in wealth and income.
Vatican Bank’s Former President Has, ‘Prepared a Series of Dossiers to be Sent to Named Individuals in the Event of His sudden Death’
June 11th, 2012
Via: Guardian:
The ousted head of the Vatican bank came under a withering counter-attack at the weekend as his former top official accused him of negligence and leaked documents were published casting doubt on his mental health.
The Vatican meanwhile warned Italian prosecutors against using information in papers seized last week from the bank’s ex-president, saying it may be covered by the Holy See’s “sovereign prerogatives”.
Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, who was appointed by Pope Benedict to bring the Vatican into line with international regulations on money laundering, was dismissed last month from the presidency of the bank, known as the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR).
The financier was last week reported to have prepared a series of dossiers to be sent to named individuals in the event of his sudden death. According to an Italian prosecutor, Gotti Tedeschi has said his problems at the bank started after he demanded to see “information about accounts that were not in the church’s name”.
Don’t Forget: Roberto Calvi
Freezer Failure at Harvard, ‘Could Slow Autism Research by a Decade’
June 11th, 2012Via: Boston Globe:
A freezer malfunction at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital has severely damaged one-third of the world’s largest collection of autism brain samples, potentially setting back research on the disorder by years, scientists say.
An official at the renowned brain bank in Belmont discovered that the freezer had shut down in late May, without triggering two alarms. Inside, they found 150 thawed brains that had turned dark from decay; about a third of them were part of a collection of autism brains.
“This was a priceless collection,’’ said Dr. Francine Benes, director of the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center, where the brains were housed. “You can’t express its value in dollar amounts,’’ said Benes, who is leading one of two internal investigations into the freezer failure.
The damage to these brains could slow autism research by a decade as the collection is restored, said Carlos Pardo, a neuropathologist and associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University.
Research Credit: HPLovecraft666
Gunwalking: House Committee Schedules Contempt Vote Against Holder
June 11th, 2012Via: CBS:
CBS News has learned the House Oversight Committee will vote next week on whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. It’s the fourth time in 30 years that Congress has launched a contempt action against an executive branch member.
This time, the dispute stems from Holder failing to turn over documents subpoenaed on October 12, 2011 in the Fast and Furious “gunwalking” investigation.
The Justice Department has maintained it has cooperated fully with the congressional investigation, turning over tens of thousands of documents and having Holder testify to Congress on the topic at least eight times.
However, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., says the Justice Department has refused to turn over tens of thousands of pages of documents. Those include materials created after Feb. 4, 2011, when the Justice Department wrote a letter to Congress saying no gunwalking had occurred. The Justice Department later retracted the denial.
Italian Economy in Deep Recession
June 11th, 2012Via: AP:
Official statistics confirm that Italy’s economy contracted by a quarterly rate of 0.8 percent in the first three months of the year, the worst contraction in three years.
The painful recession keeps pressure on Premier Mario Monti’s government, which is struggling to fend off the debt crisis and the perception that Italy could be next to seek a bailout following Spain’s decision over the weekend to ask for help for its ailing banks.
Citizenship for Sale: Foreign Investors Flock to U.S.
June 11th, 2012Via: Bloomberg:
Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin drew public ire last month following the revelation that he had renounced his U.S. citizenship, a move widely seen as a tax dodge. But thousands of wealthy foreigners are lining up to replace him, making investments here and putting themselves on a path to citizenship in the process.
The State Department expects to issue over 6,000 “investor visas” in the current fiscal year, which would be an all-time record. Other countries, meanwhile, are following the U.S.’s lead, keen to spur growth in lean economic times.
“Our goal is certainly job creation, and that’s what this program is all about,” said Bill Wright, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. “At the same time, it’s allowing somebody from a foreign country to come and invest in our nation.”
Under the government’s EB-5 Immigrant Investor program, foreign investors can get conditional visas that allow them and their families to live, work and attend school in the U.S. To qualify for the visa, they must invest at least $1 million in a new or recently created business, or $500,000 for businesses in rural or high-unemployment areas.
The investment must be demonstrated to have created or preserved at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers within two years. Assuming this condition is met, investors and their families graduate to permanent resident status, and can apply for full citizenship three years later.
While the EB-5 program has been around since 1990, demand has been surging as of late, fueled in large part by China’s growing elite, who accounted for 70% of the roughly 3,500 investor visas issued last year. State Department officials expect the program’s quota of 10,000 visas per year, which includes visas given to the spouses and children of investors, to be filled for the first time ever within the next year or two.
Older Jobless People Forced to Take Social Security Early
June 11th, 2012Via: New York Times:
Even as most Americans are delaying retirement to bolster their savings accounts, the recession and its protracted aftermath have forced many older people who are out of work to draw Social Security much earlier than they had planned.
According to an analysis by Steve Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration, about 200,000 more people filed initial claims in 2009 and 2010 than the agency had predicted before the recession and he said the trend most likely continued in 2011 and 2012, though that is harder to quantify. The most likely reason is joblessness.
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Drawing Social Security early has repercussions that will be hard to overcome even if the economy — and her work prospects — improve. By collecting four years shy of her full retirement age, Ms. Keany will receive a reduced monthly benefit for the rest of her life. Those who collect early get 20 to 30 percent less a month than they would get if they waited until full retirement age, which varies by year of birth.
U.S. Returning to Military Bases in Philippines
June 11th, 2012Via: Stars and Stripes:
The Philippine government said this week that the United States military is again welcome to use Subic Bay and the sprawling Clark Air Base, two decades after the installations were abandoned due to political friction with Manila, according to media reports.
Philippine Defense Undersecretary Honorio Azcueta said U.S. troops, ships and aircraft can make use of the old bases, as long as prior approval is granted by the government. Azcueta made the comments following a meeting with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, who traveled to the country as part of a regional trip to generate support for a military pivot toward Asia, according to the Philippine Star newspaper.
The United States had key bases in the Philippines for decades after World War II, but relations broke down in the early 1990s, and the facilities were returned.
The announcement of an expanded military relationship this week comes after months of talks between Washington and Manila, and appears to be another step forward in the U.S. plan to bolster forces in the Asia-Pacific region.
Research Credit: almaverdad2
Eurozone Agrees to Lend Spain Up to 100 Billion Euros
June 10th, 2012Via: Reuters:
Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Saturday to lend Spain up to 100 billion euros ($125 billion) to shore up its teetering banks and Madrid said it would specify precisely how much it needs once independent audits report in just over a week.
After a 2 1/2-hour conference call of the 17 finance ministers, which several sources described as heated, the Eurogroup and Madrid said the amount of the bailout would be sufficiently large to banish any doubts.
“The loan amount must cover estimated capital requirements with an additional safety margin, estimated as summing up to 100 billion euros in total,” a Eurogroup statement said.
Australia: Mental Illness Check for Toddlers
June 10th, 2012Oh sure.
Via: The Age:
THREE-YEAR-OLDS will be screened for early signs of mental illness in a new federal government program that uses behaviours such as sleeping with the light on, having temper tantrums or extreme shyness as signs of possible psychological problems.
The ”Healthy Kids Check” will be predominantly conducted by GPs, with children who show troubling behaviour referred to psychologists or paediatricians.
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The test, although not compulsory, will form part of a physical check for developmental problems such as hearing, eyesight and allergies.
Research Credit: ojn
