Economics and Investing:

Amid sales surge, Dollar General plans 900 new stores – RBS

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Some people just never learn: US credit card debt balloons to $917B: What it means – G.P.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

The Biggest Force Powering the Stock Market is Starting to Disappear, and It Could be a Huge Problem (Business Insider) Excerpt: “The issue that should scare investors is what would happen if this corporate stimulus went away.”

Without Buybacks There is No Earnings Per Share Growth (Contra Corner) Excerpt: “According to a chart from Deutsche Bank, as sales and profit growth have retreated, companies’ consistent purchases of their own shares have prevented earnings-per-share, or EPS, growth from going negative.”

Will Defunct Obamacare Co-Ops Repay Taxpayers’ Money? Senate Panel Seeks Answers (The Daily Signal) Excerpt: “When co-ops collapsed, 740,000 residents of 14 states lost their health insurance provider. The 12 failed co-ops also received a total of $1.2 billion in taxpayer dollars that they may never repay.”

Feds Ignored Warning Signs of Obamacare Co-Op Flops (The Daily Caller) Excerpt: “…Deloitte reports “showed that, starting almost immediately, the failed co-ops experienced severe financial losses that exceeded even the worst- case scenarios outlined in their loan applications….”

International News

JP Morgan: The ECB Could Purchase Equities Next (Zero Hedge) Excerpt: “…we find it very disturbing that we now live in a world in which the only asset class that has no explicit central bank support, is a “pet rock.”

Hungary’s Central Bank Ready to Use All Tools to Meet Inflation Goal (Reuters) Excerpt: “…there were significant downward risks to the achievement of the inflation goal with current monetary conditions and rate-setters would have to act to offset them.”

China’s PBOC Flags Stimulus Restraint but Says Policy Should be Flexible (Reuters) Excerpt: “The central bank is trying to keep liquidity flush to support an economy undergoing the most significant structural reforms in two decades. But officials, including Zhou, have warned against excessive policy loosening….”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Spring Foods to Can or Freeze (Frugal Living) Spring is just around the corner. This article includes lots of ideas and instructions for ways to enjoy the spring harvest by preserving early fruits and vegetables for use throughout the year! These are great ways to improve the quality of delicious home-cooked meals and save money in the grocery budget at the same time.

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