The financial crisis wiped out 18 years of gains for the median U.S. household net worth, across almost every demographic group, which may hurt retirement prospects for middle-income families. The proportion of families with retirement accounts decreased 2.6 points to 50.4 percent during the period. Read the full article at
READ MORE... →Goldman Sachs expects the economy to continue to struggle for the next few months as business owners wait for the national election before making investments. Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-12/blankfein-says-u-s-economy-in-tough-position-next-few-months.html
READ MORE... →Predictions: Wall Street lawyers and lobbyists continue to mock re-regulation. Expect fewer substantive rules and limitations on risks than now. Nine bills presented in Congress this year are designed to weaken the already weak Dodd-Frank law, mostly by holding off real accountability until the public has lost interest. Barney Frank has succumbed to pressure from Wall Street. Read the full article
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Banking by nature is and always has been, risky. Banks diversified to keep up with American corporations. A new Glass-Steagall isn’t the solution. The bulk of bank losses during the postwar financial crises came from bad loans, this time on residential real estate. Investment banking contributed. More bank capital is the solution. Read the full article
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The worst recession in six decades is hurting workers while leaving bosses almost unscathed. Between 2007 and 2010, people in nonprofessional occupations without college degrees saw median earnings fall 4.6 percent versus a 1.9 percent rise for college-educated professionals or managers. BLS reports 8.1 percent of workers with a high school degree
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Obama cannot afford a European financial meltdown. In 2008, Merkel rejected Obama’s request to speak at Brandenburg Gate. Obama has courted Merkel since, but the European Centre for International Political Economy said Germany is tired sick of the complaining and lecturing from Obama and Geithner. American Academy said helping Obama is not a Merkel priority
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Article lists Bloomberg’s survey of economist estimates of the U.S. trade gap. Predictions: Credit Suisse said trade is not going to be a big swing factor for U.S. economic growth because the world is slowing down. Read the full article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-08/trade-gap-in-u-s-probably-shrank-on-cheaper-crude-oil-imports.html
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