The U.S. commercial real estate market has slowed in the past three months as the sputtering economy and a pullback in debt financing limited deals, cooling a recovery from Washington to California.

A total of $49.8 billion of commercial property changed hands in the third quarter, down from $58.5 billion in the previous three months, according to preliminary data from Real Capital Analytics Inc., which publishes its final numbers today. The 15 percent decline is the second-biggest since the first quarter of 2009, the real estate research firm’s data show.

Deals slowed after concern deepened that the debt crisis in Europe may spread and the U.S. economy may enter another recession. Smaller markets are being hurt by less availability of commercial-mortgage bonds. The retreat may be an indication of a market awakening to the fact that it was getting ahead of itself, said Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

As you fill out your tax return and bemoan the tax you pay on your earned income, consider the strange subsidy, funded by you, provided for capital gains. The tax rate provided for capital gains is a truly bizarre
policy. A normal couple making $90,000 a year working in their small business is paying tax at a 40.3% rate (25% income tax plus 15.3% self-employment taxes, ignoring the temporary reduction this year) on their last dollar of income. The income tax rate is 15% on the part of their income below $69,000. If the same couple spent their days on the beach and made $90,000 by speculating on stock, they would pay tax at 15% on their last dollar, and 0% on the part of their income below $69,000. Now for the really weird part. For each dollar of income they make from labor, a dollar of that capital gain moves from being taxed at 0% to being taxed at 15%, while their earned income kicks in at the 15% rate. So, if they got bored and earned $1,000 working, they would be taxed at a 45.3% rate on that income, including the special "work penalty". It pays to be rich and leisurely. Productive labor, apparently, is frowned upon.

...collateral damage ... has not really been taken on board ... confidence in our legal system, in our rule of law, in our system of justice.

...white-collar crimes, which are not victimless, almost none of these guys go to prison.

http://www.businessinsider.com/nobel-economist-says-we-have-to-prosecute-fraud-or-else-the-economy-wont-recover-2010-11

By Andrew Kreig
Justice-Integrity Project

Here's why the Justice Department's halt to its probe of CIA obstruction of justice involving torture looks like another whitewash. (left-US Attorney General Eric Holder)

The DOJ compromised its probe from the beginning in 2008 by assigning it to Connecticut federal prosecutor John Durham, whom courts have twice implicated in suppressing evidence. In one of those cases, a federal judge rebuked him also for what she described as "severe misconduct" during cross-examination.

U.S. Ban on Chinese Poultry Imports Violates Rules, WTO Says

http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aeuxP2uhtybw

In his opinion piece at Bloomberg, "How to Make an American Job Before It's Too Late", Andy Grove makes a very strong case that the export of its manufacturing base is strangulating the American economy.

This is not earth shattering news for Agonistas - rather the news is in the messenger and the medium. This runs 180 degrees counter the usual free market fare one would expect at Bloomberg.

I am surprised that there has been so little commentary on the giant, hidden tax on savers - artificially low, government controlled interest rates. All the people who did the right thing and saved for their children and retirement are seeing near zero returns on their investments. We are told that the government is keeping interest rates down to stimulate the economy, but that does not easily square with the facts. Those low interest rates are not making low interest debt available to small businesses to finance job creating expansion. Rather, the low rates we earn on our savings are allowing banks to earn giant spreads and giant profits - and giant bonuses.

The President’s tax advisory panel postponed its report on tax reform options to allow for more submissions. They have a tough task – suggest ways to improve the fairness of the tax system, increase jobs, enhance the efficiency of our economy, reduce incentives to take on too much destabilizing debt, and enable the government to raise needed tax revenue before foreigners stop lending to us, all without raising taxes on people making less than $250,000 a year. There is a way to do all of that. Will their report include it?

The simple principle behind the solution is to avoid taxing things that you want to encourage. We want to encourage jobs. We want to encourage companies to locate operations in America. So, reduce taxes on employment. Start by getting rid of the 7.65% tax that employers incur on every dollar they pay to their employees (up to about $107,000 per employee), while at the same time requiring employers to give each employee a raise in the amount of the tax saved. Make up that revenue loss by imposing a new form of sales tax (the Value Added Tax or VAT that virtually every other country on the planet uses, which does not tax businesses) of about 8% on purchases. Give an equivalent subsidy to retirees who don’t benefit from the employment tax reduction. Regular working people will come out even or a little ahead on this trade, but the VAT on people who spend more than $107,000 a year will help to reduce the government’s debt. So this allows the government to get the money it needs without taxing business or employment or regular working people or retirees.

From American Politics Journal

The Wealthy are "Getting Ready"

by Jeff Koopersmith

"New York (apj .us) — At financial centers around the world bankers, brokers, and “the other rich” are getting ready to handle those people who might decide that enough is enough and attack them or their edifices. This is either a sign of good thinking on their part or overreacting to the realization that the “proles”, often throughout history, get pretty worked up when they find themselves without jobs, homeless, working for slave wages, or burying their kids. Alice Schroeder wrote a significant piece at Bloomberg on the number of gun permits being issued to high rolling investment bankers, et al this week and it piqued my interest to write a bit more on corresponding subjects.

Link Latoya Egwuekwe

Watch the growth of unemployment by county/geographic region from Jan 2007 through Sept 2009. This isn't U6 so it could have been even worse. Do our "rulers" even have a notion of what this means, let alone a plan?

What has devastated the US and global economy? The simplest explanation is unrestrained personal greed. People everywhere have had no reservations about abusing business practices, ethics, laws and cultural norms because all they cared about was amassing personal wealth. Most have also betrayed family members, friends, employers or clients. Greed is an ungodly sin that drives desires, ambitions and behavior. Greed pollutes civilization.

Please read the rest of my article at:

http://searchwarp.com/swa554265-Greed-Conquers-Guilt.htm

Millions of Americans are politically informed, smart, active and angry. They see many wrongs in our political and government system. They are fed up with politics as usual, meaning corrosive corruption of politicians by corporate and other special interests. They see little good in either the Democrat or Republican parties. And they almost always share a common bond: They love and honor the US Constitution, even though they may see some flaws in it. Yet they are also constitutional hypocrites.

Please read the rest of my article at:

http://www.nolanchart.com/article6955.html

Anyone smart and strong enough to fight delusional thinking and who pays attention to current events should clearly see that corporate corruption of the US political system is so pervasive and powerful that there will be no genuine reform of both the health care and financial sectors.

I always believed that president Obama was just a different color corrupt politician who was subservient to the two-party plutocracy. His so-called reform efforts and ludicrous federal deficit spending should disappoint all his non-delusional supporters.

For health reform the only genuine and sensible reform legislation should have been not much more than a single sentence mandating that every American has a right to full Medicare coverage. Period. End of story. True reform. True universal health insurance.

Sun Jul 19, 2009

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - Second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product figures are likely to be better than the first quarter, showing some signs of improvements in the economy, White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said on Sunday.

First quarter GDP, which measures total output within U.S. borders, contracted slightly less at a 5.5 percent annual rate instead of the previously reported 5.7 percent, the U.S. Commerce Department said on June 25.

"The second quarter GDP numbers, even though they're likely to still show a decline, are likely to look a lot better than the first quarter, which is a sign of progress," Orszag told CNN.

I caught the second half of ABC's major production on a dismal projected future for the United States due to global warming, and was very impressed to see a network put forward one expert after another with pessimistic scenarios. How refreshing to see that the real debate is more about how bad/how soon than about whether.

Excerpts from ABC's description of the special:

It seems outlandish, extreme -- even impossible. But according to cutting edge scientific research, it is a very real possibility. And unless we make drastic changes now, it could very well happen.

Experts have a stark warning: that unless we change course, the "perfect storm" of population growth, dwindling resources and climate change has the potential to converge in the next century with catastrophic results.

A national, single-payer healthcare system is the only healthcare reform option that will cover every American resident while saving us billions of dollars. The majority of Americans want it. The majority of physicians want it. The only thing missing is the political will in Washington.

Improved Medicare for All: We can do it!

http://www.healthcare-now.org/campaigns/may-30th-day-of-action

Munch on this food for thought. Eating out or in tests your recession psychology. You can choose to help the economy or yourself. You can choose to keep spending a lot of money eating out at restaurants or spending much less on groceries and cooking at home. Which you choose will also greatly impact whether you are eating healthy and eating too much. A leaner wallet can mean a leaner you.

Read the rest of my article at:

http://searchwarp.com/swa461663-How-To-Save-Money-On-Eating.htm

Americans clearly are capable of being outraged. Missing, however, is a sustained, vibrant demand for deep reforms of our political and government system. You hear a lot about populist rage these days, especially connected to the AIG bonus debacle. But populist rage as a reflection of class conflict and anger about our economic meltdown does not necessarily make a political revolution. The saddest thing about Obama winning the presidency was that his change message drained what might have been sufficient national energy for true revolutionary political reforms.

With the Bush-corrosion of our Constitution and collapse of the economic system after it had been exploited by the rich and corrupt, what better time for revolution? Instead, we got a president with a glib tongue, a terrific smile and a deep commitment to the two-party plutocracy and corporate state. Obama is no populist, not even close. Nor is he a genuine reformer. At best, he is a master exploiter of populism.

When I was young talk about millions of dollars impressed me. When I was older talk about billions of dollars dismayed me. Now, regular talk about trillions of dollars, especially government spending, nauseates me. People never seem to learn that they control the fate of the American economy.

It is far too easy to blame in bad times or thank in good times Wall Street, the government, or super-rich and powerful financial entities. In actual fact it is always the spending of money by the general population on consumer products and services, housing, cars, or investments that drives the economy. The core problem is that the public does not act in concert to serve its own interests but, instead, takes its cues from the external world and puts its trust in the wrong people and entities.

Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama
Holiday Radio Address
December 27, 2008

Good morning. This week, Americans are gathering with family and friends across the country to celebrate the blessings of Christmas and the holiday season.

As we celebrate this joyous time of year, our thoughts turn to the brave men and women who serve our country far from home. Their extraordinary and selfless sacrifice is an inspiration to us all, and part of the unbroken line of heroism that has made our freedom and prosperity possible for over two centuries.

Many troops are serving their second, third, or fourth tour of duty. And we are reminded that they are more than dedicated Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guard – they are devoted fathers and mothers; husbands and wives; sons and daughters; and sisters and brothers.

A GREAT thought and execution by developing www.coalindia.org

It is a really big thought which came in the mind of developer of the site www.coalindia.org and he executed it at his own with his own resources being an employee of Coal India Limited.

It is also a great achievement to be partner with Google on personal account for social cause. Google is a very big company in entire world. Being the partner of it is indeed a great thing.

He has done all these for Coal India company and its community with no greed.

Great kudos to him!
I am saluting his thoughts and execution part.

I'm new here, but I feel like this is topical, and belongs in this forum. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry. A lot political comedy is fantastic, but most political sketch comedy, even the decent stuff, is neutered. It's all observation, with no argument. This is different.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tgxrclYPLk&feature=related

It's Bush attempting to explain the effects of his econ policies. Funny? Any feedback would be appreciated. We're looking for a name, and ways to promote ourselves. We want to have a non-exclusive political focus.

Hello all,

I’m hoping someone out there could help me. I’m looking for a good book that discusses the global economy – global macroeconomics or international finance. I want to understand the interactions between: international monetary systems; balance of payments; foreign exchange and exchange rates; institutions (world banks); international bond and equity markets; interest rates; etc.

I’ve seen some books on international financial management that look good, but they are usually written from the perspective of how a financial manager of a corporation should navigate this sea. I’m more interested in how it all works and how changes impact the other components of the system. I also would like the book to be quite current, so issues such as emerging economies and current US financial issues are discussed.

June 6 – Bloomberg (Cherian Thomas): “India’s inflation jumped to 8.24%, the fastest since August 2004, adding pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.”

June 5 – Bloomberg (Aloysius Unditu and Clarissa Batino): “Indonesia and the Philippines raised interest rates as surging food and energy prices prompt policy makers across Asia to tackle inflation even as growth slows. Bank Indonesia increased borrowing costs for the second straight month today, raising the rate used as an indication for bill sales to 8.5% from 8.25%.”

June 3 – The Wall Street Journal (Reuben Carder, Farida Husna, and Supunnabul Suwannakij): “Record fuel prices drove inflation higher in Indonesia and Thailand in May, with Indonesia’s year-to-year inflation rate hitting double digits for the first time in nearly two years… The rise in Thailand’s consumer-price index notched a 10-year high.”

n/a