Chris Martenson Daily Read

Economy

Wither the US dollar? (Al Jazeera)

Liquidity and the Fed The US Federal Reserve (popularly known as the Fed) is also unlikely to be defending the dollar any time soon. To prop up the currency, the Fed would have to buy back dollars which would require that the US offer euros, British pounds and Japanese yens in exchange. The Fed does not have much foreign currencies in stock because the US has been running trade deficits continuously for a long time now. The fact that the Fed does not have a war chest big enough to intervene credibly in the foreign exchange market on behalf of the dollar, paradoxically, discourages short and swift “shark attacks” – the massive selling of dollars by speculators in a very short span of time.

Iowa tax receipts continue to fall

The red ink continued to flow in the state treasury last month. The Legislative Services Agency’s monthly revenue report indicates that net state tax receipts fell by 7.9 percent in November. That marked the 11th monthly decline over the past 12 months and the 10th straight monthly decline. The nearly $2.32 billion collected so far this year in state taxes is 7.9 percent below the same five-month period a year ago when the treasury took in nearly $2.52 billion in net state tax receipts.

New $100 billion safety net for jobless in works

As unemployment spikes, the cost of compassion is going up too. By as much as $100 billion. That’s the potential price of a push by Democrats in Congress to continue providing extra help to the jobless beyond the core 26-week unemployment insurance package provided under permanent law. The jaw-dropping numbers combine the approximately $85 billion cost of continuing emergency benefits through 2010 for the long-term unemployed — jobless more than six months — plus an estimated $15 billion to continue subsidies to help pay health insurance premiums.

Commodity Funds Top $1 Billion Inflows for Second Straight Week

Last week’s investments fell slightly from the $1.34 billion placed in commodity funds in the previous week, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based EPFR said in a report sent today by e-mail. Investors put money in the funds to hedge against dollar weakness and inflation, EPFR said.

Delinquencies in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market skyrocketed more than 500 percent

Delinquencies in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market skyrocketed more than 500 percent in October from a year ago, with California reportedly topping the U.S. Numbers released Monday by RealPoint Research show more than to $32.6 billion worth of loans are in default compared to $5.4 billion in October 2008. The total unpaid balance for the CMBS market for October 2009 was $810.9 billion, up from $805 billion in September, according to the Horsham, Penn.-based research firm.

Bing seeks support for Detroit from state lawmakers

Bing said he’s seeking support for legislation to allow the city to use up to $250 million in fiscal stabilization bonds to bail the city out of its deficit. The cap is now $125 million….. Asked whether lawmakers understand the city could be bankrupt without the bond legislation, Bing said: “It’s too soon to talk about financial management from the outside or whether the city will be bankrupt. I think they all understand … we’re at a very crucial point in the city of Detroit.”

New Baltimore City Budget Figures Released

Figures have just been released for fiscal year 2011 and city leaders are calling it the worst budget crisis in recent memory. The projected deficit is over $190 million. Part of the reason is that housing sales are down over 67 percent. Income tax collection has also dropped because of rising unemployment.

China’s ‘Rare Earths’ Monopoly (Video)

China is stockpiling, taxing and imposing ever-smaller export quotas on rare earths — the 17 obscure chemical elements without which many industries would grind to a halt.

US Rep.Hoyer: Debt Hike Vote Must ‘Get Us Through Next Year’

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that Congress should vote this year on a debt ceiling increase that gets “us through next year.” …..Hoyer’s comments indicate the House and Senate will vote on debt ceiling legislation this year that raises the ceiling well above the $13 trillion level.

Revenue Department Releases November Collections (Pennsylvania)

Secretary of Revenue Stephen H. Stetler today reported that Pennsylvania collected $1.6 billion in General Fund revenue in November, which was $56.8 million, or 3.4 percent, less than anticipated. Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $10.4 billion, which is $217 million, or 2 percent, below estimate. Sales tax receipts totaled $609.1 million for November, $52.7 million below estimate. Year-to-date sales tax collections total $3.3 billion, which is $142 million, or 4.1 percent, less than anticipated.

NC Justice Center: 9 eastern counties face 20% or higher poverty levels (Video)

1.3 million North Carolinians live in poverty.

Pennsylvania Bond Funds Are Drained, Officer Says

Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest U.S. state by population, is running out of bond proceeds to fund capital projects and can’t make $375 million in payments owed to contractors, Budget Secretary Mary Soderberg said.

Half of Americans at risk for not having enough in retirement, survey says

The numbers are dismal. But worse still is our reaction – actually, our lack of action. I’m talking about the latest reading of the National Retirement Risk Index, calculated by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Battered by a lengthy recession, a record 51 percent of US households are now considered at risk of not having enough money to sustain their standard of living in retirement.

DWP pay package could burden the utility’s retirement system (Los Angeles)

The five-year plan could mean the agency’s pension contribution could increase by more than 150% by 2014, according to a confidential report…..The DWP sets aside 30 cents for its pension expenses for every dollar it spends on salaries, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana wrote in his report. By the end of the contract, that figure could reach 70 cents — creating a “significant liability” for the agency, he wrote.

Melted Russian Bombs Needed to Ease Uranium Pinch: Chart of Day

The world’s atomic-power plants risk running short of fuel within a decade because uranium suppliers can’t build enrichment facilities or recycle Soviet-era warheads fast enough, according to the World Nuclear Association.