Russia’s Central Bank Issues Crimea Banknote – Sent in by RBS
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Items from Mr. Econocobas:
Most Americans have less than $1,000 in savings
Items from Professor Preponomics:
U.S. News
To Make the Payment is Almost Impossible: Puerto Rico Defaults (Again) in T-9 Days (Zero Hedge) Will Puerto Rico become America’s Greece?
Inside the Billion-Dollar Battle for Puerto Rico’s Future (New York Times) From the Article: “Some warn that Puerto Rico could be a test case for the rest of the country, paving the way for troubled states like Illinois to escape unsustainable debts.”
Existing Home Sales Fall 10.5% in November (Fox Business) From the Article: “U.S. home resales posted their sharpest drop in five years in November, a potential warning sign for the health of the U.S. economy although new regulations on paperwork for home purchases may have driven the decline.”
Staples Says FTC Rejected Offer as They Try to Acquire Rival Office Depot (Chicago Sun Times) The number of megalith mergers and acquisitions means that anti-trust news continues and will for some time… From the Article: “The Federal Trade Commission sought to block the deal earlier this month believing that a tie up between the last of the major retailers in the sector would throttle competition.”
International News
Finland Should Not Have Signed Up To Euro, Says Foreign Minister (Irish Times) Changes may be coming… “While polls still show most Finns don’t want to go through the process of exiting the currency bloc, there are signs that a plurality of voters think they would be better off outside the euro.”
President of the Czech Republic is Disappointed Greece is Still in the Eurozone (Greek Reporter) Article Excerpt: “The Czech Republic will join the Eurozone the first day after the departure, if possible, of Greece from the Eurozone,” he said adding that “I am extremely disappointed that the summer negotiations between Greece and the lenders did not lead, in the end – despite its appearing quite probable – to Greece’s exiting the Eurozone”.
2016 May Bring a Host of New Troubles for Greece (CNBC) From the Article: “A pension system overhaul, however, is shaping up to be a big hurdle for Greece, a hard sell at a time when the country’s economic crises have sent unemployment skyrocketing above 25 percent and average income plummeting 25 percent over the last four years.”
Personal Economics and Household Finance
Here’s a Sweet Deal: Make Your Own Cocoa Mix (Living on the Cheap) From the Article: “On a cold winter’s eve, what tastes better than a cup of hot cocoa?”