Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Over the years we have had our fair share at the epic social(ist) experiment that is Venezuela. Below is a random selection of stories over the past years or two, which truly capture the essence of Venezuela’s socialist revolution: Unfortunately, the country whose president two weeks ago said that “Venezuela Must Deepen Socialism To Improve…
article start Several large banks eased mortgage lending standards at the end of 2014 amid softer demand, including for loans that were eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, a Federal Reserve survey found.Still, nearly 85% of banks said underwriting standards remained basically unchanged, while 14% said credit standards eased somewhat from October…
In May of last year, I took a trip to Nevada to report a profile of a political candidate. After a three-hour interview with my subject, a member of her communications team suggested we go to lunch. Midway through, I jumped up from the table and ran toward the restaurant’s bathroom. I was unable to…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out cancelling any of Greece’s debt, saying banks and creditors have already made substantial cuts. But Mrs Merkel told the Die Welt newspaper she still wanted Greece to stay in the eurozone. Greece’s left-wing Syriza party won last weekend’s election with a pledge to have half the debt written…
main LONDON (CNNMoney) Greece’s banks were slammed Wednesday as the country’s new anti-austerity government abandoned commitments made to its international lenders. Officials from Syriza, the party that won power in Sunday’s elections, said they would halt the privatizations of a major electricity company and port, and hike the country’s minimum wage. The party has also…
A new analysis suggests that President Barack Obama ’s recent tax proposals would do little to boost incomes for middle-class households, and actually could wind up raising taxes on many, at least by some measures. The analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, tends to undercut recent…
WOODINVILLE, Wash.—Five years ago, Quadrant Homes churned out starter houses in the Seattle area with an average sales price of $269,000 and the marketing slogan, “More House, Less Money.” But facing a debt-burdened middle class and rising land prices, Quadrant has since exchanged entry-level buyers for customers free of credit worries and ready to splurge….
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has attacked eurozone austerity. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, has launched a strong attack on austerity in the eurozone as he warned that he single-currency area was caught in a debt trap that could cost it a second lost decade. Speaking in Dublin, Carney…
(Bloomberg) — The business of bundling riskier U.S. mortgages into bonds without government backing is gearing up for a comeback. Just don’t call it subprime. Hedge fund Seer Capital Management, money manager Angel Oak Capital and Sydney-based bank Macquarie Group Ltd. are among firms buying up loans to borrowers who can’t qualify for conventional mortgages…
The UK is becoming a nation of grafters. With living standards at their lowest in a decade and real-term wages falling 8 per cent since the financial crisis, more people are cramming extra work into evenings, weekends and even their lunch hours to supplement their main incomes. Officially, the average number of hours Britons work each week…