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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (46948)	2/20/2006 2:35:33 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

UK Jan PSNB -12.6 bln stg, biggest monthly surplus ever [Tax receipts up in the UK as well. seems to be oil related. Mish] Monday, February 20, 2006 9:50:40 AM afxpress.com LONDON (AFX) - LONDON (AFX) - Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown received some welcome news this morning ahead of next month's budget as official figures revealed that the government recorded its biggest ever monthly surplus during January The Office for National Statistics revealed that public sector net borrowing, the government's preferred measure of the public finances, came in at -12.6 bln stg in January, compared with last year's equivalent of -8.8 bln and expectations of -10.0 bln. January's surplus was the highest since the series began in January 1993, and came about despite the reclassification of London and Continental Railways Ltd, the company constructing the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, from the private sector to the public sector. A spokesman for the statistics office said January is traditionally a surplus month because quarterly corporation tax receipts coincide with self-assessment tax payments. On a year-on-year basis, income tax receipts increased 8.2 pct to 20.3 bln stg, while corporation tax receipts surged 51.7 pct to 10.8 bln Though all the main revenue streams increased during the month, the spokesman identified the surge in corporation tax receipts as the main reason behind the record surplus in January. He said they were boosted by higher receipts and royalty payments from North Sea oil companies, partly as a result of higher oil prices. In addition, he said oil companies advanced their traditional April payments to January. Over the first 10 months of the year, the government's deficit stood at 29.8 bln stg, just below last year's equivalent of 30.0 bln in 2004/5. Today's news may give the Chancellor some chance of meeting his latest borrowing forecast and may even be enough to prevent another embarassing upward revision to his projection when he delivers his tenth budget on March 22 In his pre-budget report in December, Brown conceded that the government will have to borrow more than he previously expected. But he still forecast a year-on-year fall in public sector net borrowing to 37 bln stg in 2005/6 from last year's 39.5 bln. And despite the upward revision to upcoming borrowing projections, Brown insisted the government will meet its golden rule of balancing the budget, excluding investment, over the economic cycle, with a surplus of 16 bln. The current budget surplus, which strips out government investment, stood at a monthly record of 15.3 bln stg in January, compared with 12.3 bln stg in the same month last year. On a cumulative basis, the current budget deficit in the first 10 months of the year stood at 7.8 bln stg, against 15.0 bln last year Even if he meets the golden rule in the current economic cycle, analysts still expect tax increases, or spending cuts, of around 10 bln stg over the next few years to bring the budget into balance over the next economic cycle, though they don't expect anything drastic in the upcoming budget Elsewhere in today's release, an alternative measure of the public finances is also likely to provide the Treasury with some comfort as it prepares the budget. The public sector net cash repayment in January was 21.1 bln stg, compared with 14.7 bln stg last year and expectations of 17.0 bln. January's repayment was the highest since the series began in April 1984 On a cumulative basis, the public sector net cash requirement in the 10 months to January is 23.0 bln stg, compared with 24.5 bln last year. The statistics office also said net debt at the end of January stood at 442.7 bln stg. That is equivalent to 35.6 pct of GDP, up from 34.1 pct at the same time last year Brown's second fiscal rule, the sustainable investment rule, requires net debt to be below 40 pct of GDP

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (46948)	2/20/2006 4:29:18 PM
From: ChrisJP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

I regret not being able to see Springsteen in 78. There's plenty of footage taken those concerts, no clue why they haven't been packaged and released. maybe when "Darkness" is re-released for its 30th aniversary ? He radiocasted some his shows. I still have the tapes from Cleveland, and some other places. I first saw Bruce at the Capital Center (just outside DC) in the Fall of 1980. Camped out all night at 7th&Fst downtown (not the safest place, but it was probably the smallest line in the area, lol). He was sooooo good that if he had ended the show after 3 songs I would have felt I had gotten my time & money's worth. But of course the show lasted for 4 hours, lol. Took my kid to see him at Fedex field (also just outside DC) about 2 years ago. We had a great time. I'm guessing my son was just about the youngest person there, lol. But that's ok, cuz I took him to see No Doubt the year before, and I was the OLDEST person there, lol. Chris

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (46948)	2/20/2006 4:43:52 PM
From: re3	Respond to of 116555

<<<(in support of Darkness on the Edge of Town....). i recall in high school, a friend heard about Bruce and went to buy Darkness on the Edge of Town, without having heard it...i think partly he thought Bruce looked cool on the cover, nevertheless, he gets it home and phones me..."we have to go back to the mall and return the tape, it is running too slow"...there was nothing wrong with the tape, he just wasn't ready for what he heard...and to figure, a guy nicknamed Moose was too afraid to return the tape, i had to do it for him... i've "only" seen Bruce 3 times but it was worth it and then some every time. Saw him once in Montreal, and made into a poster the cover from the local paper from the next day...with a pic of Bruce and the caption "toujours le boss"... gotta love the Boss

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (46948)	2/20/2006 7:42:49 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 116555

Horton Slashes Prices in Sacramento globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mish

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (46948)	2/20/2006 7:46:14 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

China Rushes to Complete $100B Deal With Iran China is hastening to complete a deal worth as much as $100 billion that would allow a Chinese state-owned energy firm to take a leading role in developing a vast oil field in Iran, complicating the Bush administration's efforts to isolate the Middle Eastern nation and roll back its nuclear development plans, according to published reports.[...] washingtonpost.com

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (46948)	2/20/2006 8:02:44 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 116555

Cendant CEO's bonus falls to $12.3 mln yahoo.reuters.com Damn - the sheer injustice of such a cutback Mish

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (46948)	2/21/2006 12:55:20 AM
From: shades	Respond to of 116555

1 million cram Rio beach for Rolling Stones show The Boss came here to tampa recently and I was out of town - I will have to try to catch him again before he gets too old. Did he ever have 1 million at a concert? February 18, 2006 23:22:18 (ET) By Angus MacSwan RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Veteran rock group the Rolling Stones treated 1 million delirious fans to a rock 'n' roll spectacle with a free show on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach on Saturday night in what was one of the biggest rock concerts ever. Singer Mick Jagger, 62, danced around the stage like a skinny teenager for the two-hour show, which featured songs from their early days in London 40 years ago and from their latest Grammy-winning album "A Bigger Bang." Police deployed more than 6,000 officers throughout Rio, one of the most beautiful but violent cities in the world. Officials had been worried about widespread thefts or trouble with the drug gangs that rule the shantytowns, or favelas. "Nothing serious happened, thanks to God. It was calm," police Col. Leonardo Tavares said. A fire department official said about 250 people were treated for exhaustion, drunkenness and other problems. Paramilitary troops had occupied several favelas after rival drug gangs killed six people in the Rocinha shantytown on Wednesday. Tavares estimated the crowd numbered about 1 million people. Thousands more milled around surrounding streets, drinking beer and holding impromptu parties. Others watched from a flotilla of private boats in the bay and from hotel rooms along Atlantic Avenue, the main thoroughfare along the beach. With its reputation for decadence, drugs and debauchery, Rio was the perfect venue for the Stones, former bad boys of rock who transformed into a powerful business operation. The Rio concert was part of the band's "A Bigger Bang" tour, which kicked off in the United States in August and was the top-grossing rock tour of 2005. FANS FROM JAPAN, EUROPE FLOCKED TO RIO Fans came from as far away as Japan and Europe for the show. From the classic opening riff of "Jumping Jack Flash," to the encore of "Satisfaction," fans sang, tried to dance on the crammed mile-long- (1.5-km-) stretch of beach and chanted praise for craggy-faced guitarist Keith Richards. A group of die-hard supporters from Minas Gerais state arrived at the beach at 9 a.m. so they could get as close to the action as possible. "I just wanted to see the greatest rock and roll band in the world. This is history," said one fan who identified himself only as Carlos. "I want to hear 'Gimme Shelter,' 'Start Me Up' and 'Wild Horses.'" The band played the latter two songs. The public was separated from the stage by an enclosure for 4,000 VIP guests of the promoter, the sponsors and the band. The enclosure aggravated Freda, a 30-year-old teacher who traveled from Sao Paulo to see the concert. "It is always like this in Brazil, everything for the millionaires," she said. At one point, a section of the crowd started an obscene chant directed at the VIPs, who included actor Rodrigo Santoro and Brazilian TV presenter and model Luciana Gimenez, Jagger's former lover and the mother of his 6-year-old son, Lucas. "Brazilians have been through a lot of hardship, so this is a gift for them," Gimenez told Reuters. "It is free, so that is politically correct." Rio de Janeiro city paid about $750,000 for the show, or about 16 percent of the cost, with the rest covered by telecommunications companies Claro and Motorola. It was billed as the biggest rock concert ever, but a reported 3.5 million people saw a free show by Rod Stewart on Copacabana Beach on New Year's Eve 1994.