Investors Insights' Comments
The Greek saga continues, but realistically with little long-term hope of being fixed. Why? Because Greece is amoung many countries who are now facing the physical "Limits to Growth" that was articulated by MIT modeling back, in 1972. And the first to go will be marginal nations like Greece, where the per capita carrying-capacity of natural resources is stretched and declining. No inputs equals no outputs - it's that simple.
They are all quickly turning into modern day versions of Easter Island and will thus need on-going economic life-supports, as long as possible from others, to maintain various equilibriums. Such situations have also occurred recently, Nauru being an example of a nation fully depleted of its key natural resources, that has impoverished its population . It is a global microcosm. It is the Ghost of Christmas Future. The short history of progress omen for Greece - and many others.
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Meanwhile, what is bad news for McDonalds is fantastic news for the rest of humanity. As folks get more health-smart, then the golden arches now owns the worst brand on the planet, putting it high on our list of prehistoric companies needing a complete makeover. Or else, it too will become just another business museum piece of note.
China and Russia have plainly mapped out a geopolitical game plan to counteract the implicit long-term powers of a US led hegemony. Together their political, economic and military partnership now creates the world's "Second Super Power" with growing control over vital global physical and financial resources. This trend opens the door to a carefully crafted "New-World-Order" with a freshly inspired set of writers..
Meanwhile, the key energy source for western nations hits the flat-line and decline phases of oil production. Needless to say, energy capacities are closely related to political and other powers. You cannot have one, without the other - that's historical gospel.
Times are a changing...
Good Luck, Be Careful Out There!
Greece to reopen banks on Monday after 21-day shutdown
More flexible withdrawal limits will allow a maximum of 420 euros a week, in place of current limit of 60 euros a day.
The Greek government has announced that banks in the country will reopen on Monday, three weeks after they were shut down to prevent a financial collapse.
The statement comes as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prepares for the start of new bailout talks next week.
The decree to reopen the banks came hours after new ministers were sworn in following a cabinet reshuffle in which Tsipras replaced dissident members of his ruling Syriza party following a revolt over the tough bailout terms.
The reshuffle allowed Tsipras to replace cabinet rebels with allies of his own or from his junior coalition partners, the right-wing populist Independent Greeks party.
The first action of the new cabinet was to sign off the banks' decree, which will allow more flexible withdrawal limits that allow a maximum of 420 euros a week, in place of the limit of 60 euros a day currently in place.
However, restrictions on transfers abroad and other capital controls remain in place.
The move had been widely expected after the European Central Bank agreed to reopen emergency credit lines which the tottering Greek banking sector needs to survive.
Tsipras intends to seal the bailout accord with European partners over the next few weeks before likely new elections which Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis said this week could happen in September or October
Welcome to Don Quixote airport: cost €1bn - now it could sell to China for €10,000
A Chinese consortium plans to turn the vast ghost airport at Ciudad Real in barren central Spain into a global freight hub
It cost €1bn (£694m) to build and was on sale for a knockdown price of €40m, but now looks set to be sold for just €10,000. Ciudad Real airport, one of the most notorious emblems of Spain’s economic crash, has found a buyer.
A Chinese-led consortium has emerged as the only bidder for the deserted site 100 miles south of Madrid, for an apparent bargain price after no one met the much reduced valuation. Its facilities include a runway long enough to land an Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger plane, along with a passenger terminal that could handle 10m travellers per year. It is also in pristine condition because it has barely been used, having opened to international flights in 2010 as the eurozone crisis raged, only to shut two years later.
McDonald's franchisees have never been this depressed
Just when you thought it couldn't get much worse for McDonald's, it did.
The six-month outlook for franchisees is at an all-time low, according to a small survey by Mark Kalinowski, a long-time restaurant industry analyst. (Tweet this).
Some 29 franchisees, who collectively own and operate 208 McDonald's restaurants in the United States, were asked to give their six-month forecast from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). The average response was 1.69, the lowest in the survey's 12-year history.
Previously, the lowest rating was 1.81, which was recorded three months ago.
To be sure, the economic mess created in Greece – the result of government profligacy, official corruption, and widespread tax evasion – merited some international assistance. And the IMF did impose conditions on its loans to Greece – including fiscal austerity, privatization, and structural reform of its pension and tax systems – most of which were necessary to address the country’s insolvency. The requirements of the latest rescue deal are the toughest yet – even tougher than those that Greek voters overwhelmingly rejected in a referendum earlier this month.
When considering how this week hackers allegedly affiliated with the Chinese government stole the Social Security numbers of some 20 million Americans, we can’t help but wonder: Is this what cyberwar with China feels like? With that calming thought, here are some background pieces you may want to read. Maybe even print out. Just in case.
There is significant risk in the S&P 500 Index in spite of the fact that central banks and governments have successfully levitated the stock and bond markets.
Russia is aiming to retain its influence as the security guarantor in the region. This satisfies both China, which is wary of deploying troops beyond its borders, and Central Asian countries used to a Russian military presence. “Under this arrangement, China would be the bank and Russia would be the big gun”.
There's been a virtual blackout of news from this year's seventh annual BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia.
Saudi Arabia has long said that it has loads of untapped reserves and would, within a few years, be on track to increase oil production from 10 million barrels per day to as much as 15 million barrels of oil per day. But Saudi production has stayed stubbornly at 10 million barrels.
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