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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (33412)	4/19/2008 10:29:35 AM
From: Rolla Coasta	Respond to of 217752

Problems with Plastic: Credit Card Debt Hits Record High americanprogress.org By Tim Westrich \| April 18, 2008 SOURCE:istockphoto Financially stressed Americans are turning to credit cards in greater numbers, according to the most recent economic data. Amid the worsening U.S. housing crisis, lenders are tightening their mortgage standards, leaving only the most creditworthy borrowers able to take out new mortgages and tap new home equity lines of credit. That means more and more Americans are racking up record levels of credit card debt to make ends meet—tapping expensive and potentially explosive debt that lenders continue to offer. Financially stressed Americans are turning to credit cards in greater numbers, according to the most recent economic data. Data released last week by the Federal Reserve shows that Americans’ total credit card debt has reached $951.7 billion—up 8.2 percent from a year ago and the highest amount ever recorded. This is not good news amid an economic downturn given the already brisk accumulation of credit card debt by consumers over the past six years. As detailed in the recent Center for American Progress report “House of Cards,” between April 2006 and December 2007, inflation-adjusted credit card debt accelerated at a rate four times faster than between March 2001, when the last business cycle ended, and April 2006. This increase compensated for a substantial part of the slowdown in mortgages. This increase in debt is no surprise. With the costs of almost all basic expenses on the rise, everyday Americans are pushed against a wall. Gasoline prices, for example, have risen a whopping 26.1 percent from March 2007 to March 2008. And since 2001, the costs of food, utilities, medical care, and college tuition have all skyrocketed. During the housing boom, Americans who owned their homes could cope with these rapid increases in the cost of living by cashing in on rising home prices. But as the subprime crisis slowly unfolded over the past year, lenders have tightened mortgage standards. A survey by the Federal Reserve Board showed that lenders tightened standards in 2007 more than at any point since 1991. Yet credit cards continue to be pushed by lenders. Some estimate that over 6 billion mailings are sent by credit card issuers to U.S. households every year. Because credit cards have higher borrowing costs than other forms of debt due in part to high fees, many borrowers fall deep into debt. Already the share of credit card debt that is written off by banks has risen sharply. As uncovered in “House of Cards,” between March 2006 and September 2007, the share of credit card debt that was charged off by credit card lenders rose from 3.0 percent to 4.0 percent. Increased defaults could unravel the billions of dollars of securitized debt backed by credit card receivables, just as delinquencies in the housing market unraveled the billions of dollars in residential mortgage-backed securities. Just like mortgage-backed securities, credit card debt is packaged and sold to investors. An increase in defaults could lead to losses not just for the credit card lenders, but also for pension funds and investors who bought the debt. A possible unraveling of the U.S. credit card market and its costs to global financial markets could be partially ameliorated with improved transparency for credit cards. Further, Congress could make it easier for responsible borrowers to avoid fees and surprise rate increases as they come to rely more and more on their plastic. The Center for American Progress has highlighted several solutions as to how this can happen. Tim Westrich is a Research Associate at the Center for American Progress and the co-author of our most recent report on credit-card lending, House of Cards.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (33412)	4/19/2008 11:33:50 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 217752

19 Apr 2008 10:06 GMT Turkmens Scramble To Sell Dollars As Devaluation Fears Grow -AFP ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AFP)--Turkmens are lining up to sell their dollars in the gas-rich Central Asian state as rumors fly of a possible devaluation. Hundreds waited in the rain Friday to cash in their dollars before the feared devaluation, from the current fixed rate of 20,000 manats to the dollar. "There are rumors everywhere. One person says that the new course will be TMM6,250, another TMM16,000, others say TMM12,000 (to the dollar). People are hurrying to sell their dollars," said Svetlana, 30, who asked for her last name not to be used. The scenes are signs of change - tough changes for many - in the energy-rich former Soviet state. Exchanges have limited the amount that each person can change, but Turkmens have worked out how to get around the limitations. Known for its secrecy, the Turkmen government has said nothing about the currency fears, and local media, controlled by the state, has remained equally silent. "It is all speculation," said an employee of the state bank. Until January, the official dollar rate was TMM5,200 a dollar - a rate unchanged for 10 years, most of them under the reclusive leader Niyazov who closed the country off from the world. New President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who took over in December 2006 after Niyazov's death, fixed the rate at TMM20,000 to the dollar at the beginning of the year as he begins to implement reforms. But by Friday, the manat had sunk to TMM17,500/dollar on the black market. The queues to sell dollars show how ordinary Turkmens are wary about the economic changes in the country under the new regime. In February, gasoline prices soared eight times higher, having previously remained unchanged since 1993. The government only gave 24 hours notice before the price increase, causing huge queues at gasoline stations throughout the country. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 04-19-08 0606ET

To: TobagoJack who wrote (33412)	4/19/2008 3:09:55 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217752

Kissinger in 1970: "Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people; control money and you control the world." The implications of the 'then' and the 'now'.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (33412)	4/21/2008 12:36:56 AM
From: 8bits	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217752

Re: Gold (PS Kicking myself for unloading 100 ounces of Palladium in the high 300s and 10 ounces of Platinum at $1400...) Thought this would warm your heart but I suspect you have already read this or similar articles: chinapost.com.tw Newly rich Chinese consumers take a shine to gold By Fran Wang, AFP BEIJING -- Li Zhixin spent weeks planning his one-day family tour of Beijing's historic sites, but instead found himself in one of the city's shopping malls, watching his wife happily trying on gold necklaces. "I can't complain -- we just like gold," said the 30-year-old steel plant worker from Tangshan, an industrial city southeast of Beijing. "Gold is a better store of wealth than platinum," he added, as his mother-in-law counted a wad of cash beside him. "Of course, diamonds are lovely. But we can't afford the big ones and are not interested in small stones." They finally bought a pendant necklace for more than 3,000 yuan (US$439), more than two months' income for an average Chinese urban resident. With per-capita disposable income in cities up 17.2 percent to 13,786 yuan in 2007, gold jewelry is no longer beyond the reach of masses of Chinese consumers on the lookout for something luxurious. "People buy gold jewelry for anniversaries, weddings, or as gifts for holidays," said Daisy Yan, a saleswoman at the Xin Dong An Department Store in downtown Beijing. "First it's a pretty adornment, also I think it's maybe about vanity, a way to show how rich the wearer is." Figures from the World Gold Council showed sales of gold jewelry in China hit a record high of 302.2 tons in 2007, up 34 percent on the previous year. China has now overtaken the United States to become the world's second largest buyer of gold jewelry after India. But behind the remarkable growth lies a deep Chinese traditional appreciation of the precious metal as a hedge against social and economic risks. "I'm more confident in gold -- we've been buying it for so many years in the past anyway," said 78-year-old Wu Peifen, who was selecting a wedding gift for her grandson at Beijing's Wangfujing Department Store. High inflation and a 41-percent slump in the domestic stock market this year have added further momentum to China's drive to buy gold. "The stock market is not as good as before, and people do not feel safe parking all their savings in banks," said Lin Yuhui, an analyst with the China International Futures in the southern city of Shenzhen. "So they tend to buy gold as a means to hedge inflationary risks." Spurred by strong demand and international price rises, one gram (0.035 ounces) of pure gold jewelry sold at a new high of 242 yuan in Beijing in March, up nine percent in just two months, earlier state media reports said. On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to US$944.13 per ounce Friday, up more than 37 percent from a year ago. But Chinese consumers are not deterred by rising prices, experts said. Rather, they increasingly view gold as not only a means to protect wealth but also as an efficient part of their investment portfolio. "In fact, higher gold prices helped to stimulate investment purchases of the metal... as consumers were attracted by the strong returns generated by the metal," the World Gold Council said in a recent report about the China market. It said investment demand for gold at the retail level amounted to 23.9 tons in 2007, a rise of 60 percent compared with 2006. However, for young Chinese, fashion appears to be more important than potential return. "What I want is something fashionable and special," said Zhang Xiangyu, a 25-year-old beauty parlor worker, as she browsed gold earrings and bracelets in a jewelry store with her boyfriend. "I won't waste time thinking too much -- I'll buy it as long as I like the look of it." Newly rich Chinese consumers take a shine to gold Shoppers examine gold jewelry at a department store in Beijing in this Dec. 2, 2007 file photo. Figures from the World Gold Council showed sales of gold jewelry in China hit a record high of 302.2 tons in 2007, up 34 percent on the previous year. (Bloomberg News) >> More Photos