A SurvivalBlog reader sends this snapshot of a message on the January 2016 statements from Chase bank.
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Walmart Sues Puerto Rico Over 91.5% Tax Rate Applicable Only To Walmart – PLC
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Items from Professor Preponomics:
US News
CBO Warns: “Trajectory’s All Wrong” on the National Debt (Washington Examiner) Excerpt: “Congressional Budget Office Director Keith Hall warned Congress on Thursday that the national debt is on an unsustainable course, and that improved economic growth alone isn’t enough to dodge a debt crisis.”
Total US Debt Breaks $19T Mark: Total Debt Rises by $8.4T in Last 8 Years and is On Pace to Hit $22T by 2020 (My Budget 360) Excerpt: “This brings up an interesting situation in the respect that we will never pay this debt off. I think people get this, right? In fact, the entire debt foundation is built merely on the servicing of debt, not the actual payoff. Yet the amount of interest we owe is now also ridiculous. In December alone we paid $86 billion in interest for one month. The pace of debt growth is unsustainable….”
North Dakota’s Economy Has Been “Completely Devastated” by Oil’s Collapse (Zero Hedge) Excerpt: “And there’s no respite in the cards. Storage is overflowing, OPEC is splintered as Saudi Arabia remains generally belligerent on the idea of production cuts and Iran is reluctant to start talking about curtailing supply just as the country is attempting to ramp production back up after years spent languishing under international sanctions.” Warning: Commentary following the article may contain bad language and/or inappropriate avatar images.
International News
Debts, Defaults, and Devaluations: Why this Market Crash is Like Nothing We’ve Seen Before (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “They tell you should start your presentations with a joke, but making jokes at a commodities seminar is hardly appropriate these days,” Thygesen told his nervous audience.” CNBC also reports… Citi: World Economy Seems Trapped in “Death Spiral” Excerpt: “Stronger U.S. dollar, weaker oil/commodity prices, weaker world trade/petrodollar liquidity, weaker EM (and global growth)… and repeat.”
Dollar Tumbles as Fed Rescues China in the Nick of Time(The Telegraph) Excerpt: “The US dollar has suffered one of the sharpest drops in 20 years as the Federal Reserve signals a retreat from monetary tightening, igniting a powerful rally for commodities and easing a ferocious squeeze on dollar debtors in China and emerging markets.”
SocGen Claims China is Only Months Away from Burning Through its Currency Reserves (Market Watch) Excerpt: “China is burning through its foreign-currency reserves at such a blistering pace that the country will run down its cushion in a few months, forcing the government to wave the white flag and float the yuan….”
Personal Economics and Household Finance
7 Things Debt Free People Never Do (Clark Howard) Excerpt: “Debt-free people might have carried debt in the past or might have witnessed the havoc that carrying a large amount of debt has had on other peoples’ lives, vowing never to be in the same position. But the great thing is, when it comes to your money, no matter where you start, you get to decide where you go from here!”
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