Econintersect: Click Read more >> below graphic to see today’s list.
The top of today’s reading list has questions about $4.1 trillion in assets that European banks must shed to satisfy Basel 3 requirements …….. and the last article is about the case of 200 million barrels of oil missing.
- European banks need to sell £2.8 trillion of assets (Nathalie Thomas, The Telegraph) That is € 3.2 trillion or $4.1 trillion, most of which ($3.1 trillion) must come out of smaller banks. The big boys need offload “only” about $1 trillion. Econintersect questions:
- If the assets offloaded are not the strongest won’t the be sold at reduced prices and won’t the capital increases anticipated fall short?
- If the assets offloaded are strong and receive full price won’t the risk of asset failure be increased because of the weakness in the assets retained?
- Who will buy these assets? Presumably other banks will not be in a position to take on the EU banks excesses because of the same Basel 3 requirements.
- When will asset write-downs be made to end this charade?
Econintersect apologizes for making this link into a mini article. We probably should have just done the full monty.
- Why I’m Unhappy With Happiness Surveys (Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post)
- Out of Work Over 9 Months? Good Luck Finding a Job (Ben Casselman, The Wall Street Journal) Three million people have a big problem.
- How Much Is Job Market Really Improving? (Ben Casselman, The Wall Street Journal) The ratio of officially unemployed to job openings has finally edged below 3:1. Before the Great Recession the reatio was typically around 2:1. It looks like it could take years to get back to that level.
- Self-Esteem is Overrated (Sandra Upson, Scientific American) Get over yourself and get on with your life.
- Why the World Is Smarter Than Us (Dana Goldstein, The Daily Beast) The rest of the world values intellect more than we do.
- Possible Short-Term Top; No Bear Market on the Horizon (Chris Puplava, Advisor Perspectives dshort.com) Divergences indicate market top.
Click on graphic for larger image.
- Cecilia Kang Is Right: There Really Could Be A Free National WiFi Network (of Networks) (Harold Feld, Public Knowledge) Hat tip to Roger Erickson.
- Obama: Edward Snowden is a stinkin’ traitor and should be hung . . . er . . . ah . . . I said what? (Rodger Malcolm Mitchell, Monetary Sovereignty) Rodger Malcolm Mitchell has contributed to Global Economic Intersection.
- The Case of the Missing 200 Million Barrels of Oil: Marshall Adkins (George S. Mack, The Energy Report) Hat tip to Roger Erickson.
