17 States Still Project Budget Deficits (It Will Get Much Worse); Moving Targets and the Slowing Global Economy
State economies have partially recovered from the depths of 2009 and early 2010, but 17 states still project deficits. Moreover, there are no rainy day funds or untapped revenue sources, and some “temporary” tax hikes are set to expire. California is $13 billion in the hole but that is a huge improvement compared to the [...]
Read MoreSpain’s Budget Minister says "Serious Budget Shortfalls in All 17 Autonomous Regions"; Primer Minister Announces $19.3 Billion Package of Tax Hikes; Cockroaches and the Theory of the Unexpected
Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has finally admitted three things I have been saying for a long time Spain’s regions were in deep fiscal trouble if not bankrupt Spain could not possibly hit its deficit targets for 2012 It is mathematically impossible for Spain to meet deficit goals without raising taxes, no matter how much [...]
Read MoreAdditional 2012 Predictions: Trade Wars, US Election, Precious Metals, Energy
I inadvertently left off an item regarding trade wars that I intended to mention in Mish 2012 Predictions; 2011 Year in Review with Max Keiser. I also have some commentary on the US election, precious metals, and energy. Trade Wars Expect Global Trade Wars: Look for tit-for-tat trade wars to heat up in 2012 as [...]
Read MoreExplaining Italian Christmas Season Sales (It’s Far Worse Than Previously Reported); How Various Austerity Measures Will Affect Spending in 2012; Emails from Italian Readers; Massive European Recession On the Way
In response to Italians Cut Spending in Worst Christmas in 10 Years; Harsh Times Ahead for All Europe (an article translated from Spanish that had me puzzled about a number of things even though I could tell spending fell dramatically), reader Andrea offers a very nice explanation of just how bad things are in Italy. [...]
Read MoreWhen Companies Write Off Stock Options Is It an Unfair Tax Break?
The NYT had an interesting piece on a provision in the tax code that allows companies to write off the value of exercised options as employee compensation. This is deducted from profits and reduces their taxes accordingly. It is not clear that this treatment is improper. In principle, the value that the company is paying [...]
Read MoreWhen Companies Write Off Stock Options Is It an Unfair Tax Break?
The NYT had an interesting piece on a provision in the tax code that allows companies to write off the value of exercised options as employee compensation. This is deducted from profits and reduces their taxes accordingly. It is not clear that this treatment is improper. In principle, the value that the company is paying [...]
Read MoreWhen Companies Write Off Stock Options Is It an Unfair Tax Break?
The NYT had an interesting piece on a provision in the tax code that allows companies to write off the value of exercised options as employee compensation. This is deducted from profits and reduces their taxes accordingly. It is not clear that this treatment is improper. In principle, the value that the company is paying [...]
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