Re: Tema: PPCC - Pisitófilos Creditófagos - Primavera 2023

[Derby]

https://fortune.com/2023/06/10/millennial-couple-student-debt-cant-afford-kids-family-6-figure/

Millennial couple with $64,000 of student debt can’t afford kids, saying a $125,000 salary ‘doesn’t feel like enough’

On paper, Kelly and her husband have it all figured out. The young couple lives happily in upstate New York, bought a home in 2020 before the housing market went bananas, and aim to contribute a few thousand dollars each month to their retirement plans and liquid savings account. Kelly works remotely at a job she loves, that pays her a big city salary despite her medium-cost-of-living location. But still, like many other millennials, the couple has put off having children, and isn’t sure they ever will.

“When I think of starting a family, I have hesitation to even wanting to do that,” Kelly says. Blame all their student-loan debt. “Starting to save for your kids’ student loans while still paying your own off, that’s something I don’t want to do.”

Kelly, who is 29 and asked to go by only her first name for privacy reasons, is the breadwinner, earning $125,000 (with the possibility of a 10% annual bonus), but that’s a new development. The most she ever brought home before her new job was around $62,000 per year. The thousands they are saving each month are also a new development—like many other six-figure households, Kelly and her husband haven’t built much of a financial cushion.

“I’m kind of playing catch-up,” Kelly tells Fortune. “I should have been saving for 10 years and I wasn’t.”

And then there’s student loans hanging over their heads. Their combined $64,000 worth of school debt is a major source of stress. For the past few years, they’ve been paying $400 each month rather than the typical $800, thanks to the federal Covid-19 payment and interest moratorium. That’s been instrumental to their “catch-up” savings contributions, but when the payment pause ends at the end of August, things will change.

Their finances feel tight enough as is that Kelly says she can’t imagine adding in additional costs, especially not childcare to the tune of hundreds or even thousands each month. And given that Kelly earns 75% of the couple’s $166,000 joint income, she would not be able to leave the workforce, as women in heterosexual relationships still tend to do, to take care of their children. They find themselves in a sort of financial bind.

“Even though I make six figures, I still feel like I can’t get ahead,” she says. “Compared to past generations, $125,000 doesn’t feel like enough anymore.”

Student loan payments add to mounting financial pressure

Kelly is far from alone in feeling like she’s stuck between a financial rock and a hard place. She and her husband are on their way to being HENRYs—high earners, not rich yet—and the $166,000 they earn puts them well above the median U.S. household income, but things are tough for even these high earners as the cost of living grows higher and higher. Around 34% of households making at least $100,000 per year are living paycheck to paycheck, a recent survey found.

Were President Joe Biden’s widespread student loan forgiveness plan to survive its time at the U.S. Supreme Court, the couple’s debt burden would be almost halved, Kelly says, making it a much more manageable sum that might allow the couple to consider expanding their family. But they’re not counting on the relief, given the conservative bent of the court.

Debt cancelation is anything but a sure thing, and Kelly is pragmatic when it comes to her financial position. Plenty of people in tougher financial spots have children and make it work, but Kelly can only focus on her own financial oxygen mask at the moment by building up her retirement savings—and still, she feels nowhere near where she “should” be, given her age—and putting away some money for the couple’s next home.

They currently live in an 800-square-foot, two-bedroom home. But with interest rates and prices as high as they are now—comparable homes are $100,000 more expensive than they were when the couple bought their current home—Kelly says even in a place with a lower cost-of-living, they just can’t afford a new home big enough for a growing family.

There are trade-offs. She can’t make the math work on funding her retirement, paying off her debt, saving for a home, and affording children.

“Saving for retirement seems trivial when student loans loom over our heads. And starting a family seems impossible with the cost of childcare on the rise,” she says. “I recognize that I’m extremely privileged, but I still feel mounting pressure when it comes to our finances.”

[Derby]

https://www.ft.com/content/d5dcc72e-96eb-403a-a793-c9a8c3a11e30

Economists predict at least two more US rate rises to quell stubborn inflation

Experts polled by the FT say Fed will need to take tougher action than markets expect to cool economy

The US Federal Reserve will need to take tougher action than expected to root out inflation, according to a majority of leading academic economists polled by the Financial Times, who predict at least two more quarter-point interest rate increases this year.(...)

[asustadísimos]

[Si la economía española no va como una moto, ¿por qué no ceden los precios inmobiliarios de una manera ostensible?, je, je.]


[Estamos asistiendo a las mejores 24h de Le Mans que se recuerdan. Además del éxito del nuevo modelo Hypercar, hay cambios del reglamento que acaban estrechando los colchones de tiempo que se van generando, como pasa con la imposición directa progresiva en la economía aproductiva.

En la categoría estrella, la Hypercar, el Ferrari de Molina (n.º 50) ha tenido problemas. Esta noche una piedra de la puzolana ha roto el radiador, había peligro de recalentamiento y ha perdido demasiado tiempo en el box. Pero los tres primeros están en un pañuelo (Ferrari —Europa—, Toyota —Asia— y Cadillac —América—). Todos quieren que este 100.º Le Mans lo gane la reaparecida Ferrari. Un 'safety car' convertiría la carrera de resistencia en una carrera al sprint —más aún de lo que está siendo, como lo prueba la cantidad de incidentes que está habiendo por lo al límite que se está yendo y la lluvia—.

Sin embargo, otro español, el joven estafado Albert Costa (Inter Europol, n.º 34)
https://www.relevo.com/mas-motor/albert-costa-debut-mans-20230609173847-nt.html
está comandando con autoridad en la categoría 'a extinguir' LMP2 (Le Mans Prototipos 2). Al volante del coche rival, otro superador de dificultades, el viejo amigo de Fernando, Kubica (Team WRT, n.º 41).

¡Qué difícil es ganar las 24h de Le Mans! Y Fernando tiene dos victorias absolutas.]

[asustadísimos]

[Del 'pendant' político-económico español, el PP es el partido para las empopadas, y el PSOE, para las ceñidas.

Cuando la economía goza del 'buen viento y buena mar' es cuando han de interpretarse las músicas de 'Marshall'. 'Keynes' está para las situaciones problemáticas.

Los pinchadiscos del PP y PSOE ponen música del dúo Marshall & Keynes, pero el PP más de Marshall; y el PSOE, de Keynes.

Una Economía de Mercado funciona haciendo sonar:
— en las expansiones (ciclos coyunturales), más música marshalliana;
— en las recesiones (ciclos coyunturales), más keynesiana; y
— en las transiciones (ciclo estructural), se apaga el tocadiscos.

Las Economías de Mercado actuales no funcionan, no porque no se sepa gestionar el ciclo coyuntural —eso se hace demasiado bien—, sino por razones estructurales: han fallado en la provisión de vivienda a los asalariados y funcionarios-directivos, que ya no pueden permitirse vivir en las ciudades.

Recordemos que el modelo de sustitución del popularcapitalista es:
• de planificación central capitalista,
• con moneda fuerte —control social de precios— (como nos enseña Suiza) y
• con cero anarcocapitalismo (como nos enseña Argentina).

La mierda de nueva locución pronominal 'colaboración público-privada' es una partiturita keynesiana extemporánea ofrecida por los perdedores 'marshallianos' para que la interprete el 'pendant' y salvarse ellos 'in extremis'.

Colaboración público-privada en sentido lato la hay desde siempre. ¿Si no, qué es el Estado del Bienestar? ¿A qué se refieren ahora? Esta expresión, sobra. Además, será objeto de chascarrillos cuando salgan nuevos casos de corrupción.

Lo que toca ahora es silencio. Es el mejor momento, especialmente, para que el 'marshallianismo' esté calladito.

Como el PP gobierna cuando ya ha pasado lo malo, su electorado se cree que lo bueno se debe a él y lo malo al PSOE.

Pero ahora, en este trance estructural, podemos hacer un pan como unas tortas si ponemos al PP cuando lo malo está por venir. ¡Que estamos ante la situación más problemática que se presenta históricamente en el devenir de todo sistema: un cambio de modelo!

Para empezar, el PP cree sinceramente que no hay cambio de modelo, sino un mero vaivén causado por excesos previos. Por esta causa, ella sola, el PP ya no nos sirve para el trance. Se hincharía a mediditas de gestión coyuntural justo en sentido contrario al que corresponde. Incumpliría el ortograma capitalista. Y tendríamos problemas insalvables con el verdadero Estado, la UE (y el FMI), que tiene a sus 27 estados en exactamente la misma situación de cambio de modelo, muchos con peores cifras que España.

El PP, además, tiene el problema de Vox. Si el PP no sabe qué hacer con la acusación de derechita cobarde, ¿cómo pretende administrar el 'bonito' 2024?

Las derechas política y sociológica están muy loquitas, todo el día de dramón espantoso antes de tiempo.]

[asustadísimos]

[Le Mans 2023.— En LMP2, el WRT puede adelantar al Europol a pocas vueltas de terminar la carrera. ¡Han cambiado de piloto! (Costa, que estaba pilotando mejor que Kubica). Han puesto al que pone dinero por la foto de la bandera ajedrezada. Pero este cojea visiblemente del pie izquierdo y pierde un segundo por vuelta del escaso colchón que había. Afortunadamente la última parada en boxes del WRT ha sido lentísima. Ha pasado la misma tontería en la lucha por la victoria en hypercars: Toyota ha cambiado al mejor piloto para poner a uno japonés, pero sin ponerle ruedas nuevas (en estos coches, es como calzarte los zapatos de otra persona). Evidentemente, ha tenido un trompo. Ha tenido que pasar por el box y la ventaja que le llevaba Ferrari ya no se mide en segundos, sino en minutos.

Afortunadamente, pero por los pelos, parece que no van a cambiar las cosas.

¡Cambiad, cambiad de piloto al final, por razones políticas, no técnicas!

En honor de Europol y Ferrari, la 'toyotada':

【大陸】心都要化了！河南一萌娃打針模樣可愛得像幅油畫
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Epd6JBkyQ

P. S.: El papel de Toyota en este Le Mans revaloriza las dos victorias de Fernando.]

[BENDITALIQUIDEZ]

Un ejemplo de cómo lo que le da valor a las empresas no son los inmuebles, sino la labor de los que trabajan dentro del inmueble:

https://www.lne.es/oviedo/2023/06/11/opera-pie-calle-emociona-peaton-88553547.html

[Derby]

Tudo bem... 

https://www.ft.com/content/6bf11c8e-c3f3-40cb-9489-157db427602a

Musk’s refusal to pay rent adds to Goldman bad property loans

Jump in delinquencies as rival banks warn of growing commercial real estate losses

Goldman Sachs was hit by a surge in commercial real estate loan delinquencies in the first quarter, fuelled in part by Elon Musk’s refusal to pay Twitter’s rent.

The value of loans to commercial real estate borrowers (CRE) behind on repayments climbed 612 per cent in the first quarter to $840mn, according to reports filed by Goldman’s licensed banking entity with the US Federal Deposit Insurance Commission.

That was much higher than the rise in delinquent CRE loans reported by the entire US banking industry, which were up 30 per cent over the same period to just over $12bn, according to Bankingregdata.com, which collates the FDIC reports.

The jump in delinquencies at Goldman’s deposit-taking business comes at a time when rival banks are warning over growing losses on commercial real estate loans, most of which are tied to office buildings and were made before the pandemic ushered in a work-from-home culture.

Goldman has much less exposure to commercial real estate lending than its larger rivals. At the end of the first quarter, it had $8.4bn of outstanding loans backed by commercial property, according to the FDIC report. Wells Fargo had $91bn and Bank of America had $60bn.

However, the surging delinquencies are another sign of the frustrations the bank has faced as it tries to diversify its business away from its traditional focus on deals and trading.

Goldman was among a group of banks including Citigroup and Deutsche Bank that lent $1.7bn to Columbia Property, a real estate investment trust, against seven office buildings in San Francisco and New York, including two that house large offices for Twitter.

Twitter stopped paying its rent in November and Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media network, has told employees he does not intend to restart payments or cover past dues, according to lawsuits. Columbia Property, which is suing Twitter over the missed payments, defaulted on the loan in February. Columbia Property declined to comment. Twitter, which has adopted a policy of not replying to the press, could not be reached for comment.

Given Goldman’s relatively small exposure to the sector, the bad loans will not have a material impact on its earnings. “Lending doesn’t matter that much for Goldman,” says Christopher Kotowski, a banking analyst at Oppenheimer. Commercial real estate lending accounts for less than 20 per cent of the bank’s overall loan book, according to Goldman’s own calculations.

Still, more than 10 per cent of its CRE loans held in its banking subsidiary, which accounts for 90 per cent of its overall loans, are in some form of delinquency, according to Bankingregdata.com, whereas the average delinquency at its peers is less than 1 per cent.

In SEC filings and discussions with investors, Goldman defines its CRE lending more broadly and includes loans made to investment firms that buy and sell real estate debt as well as loans used to pool CRE loans into investment securities.

On that yardstick, delinquencies are lower, but still higher than peers. “If you look at the entirety of our commercial real estate lending activities, our delinquency rate is below 2 per cent,” said Goldman.

The FDIC, though, puts these loans, which tend to have much lower default rates, into a different category.

Goldman, which became a regulated bank in the wake of the financial crisis, has spent the past decade putting more resources into lending. The firm now has nearly $180bn of bank loans outstanding, up from $3bn a decade ago.

In 2020, Goldman said corporate lending was one of the firm’s priorities. “We are embracing the bank model,” said then chief financial officer Stephen Scherr, during a presentation to investors. “We believe this will be an important source of future upside for the firm.”

The bank has benefited from higher interest rates, with profits at its lending entity rising to $3.7bn in the first quarter — an all-time high and a 20 per cent jump from the same period of last year.

Nonetheless, the larger loan book is also a source of potential losses given Goldman’s willingness to lend to riskier corporate borrowers compared with its rivals. Just over 65 per cent of its commercial loans are to “junk” borrowers without an investment grade credit rating, compared with 28 per cent and 17 per cent for JPMorgan Chase and Citi, respectively.

Goldman’s total volume of delinquent loans, according to FDIC data, jumped to $3.2bn at the end of the first quarter, or about 2 per cent of its loans outstanding, up from $2.4bn a year ago.

Most of those are tied to credit cards and other consumer loans, which make up about 65 per cent of its loan loss provisions, per Bankregdata.com.

Goldman earlier this year signalled its intention to pull back from lending to consumers by selling off $1bn of loans tied to its Marcus consumer bank.

David Fanger, who follows Goldman for bond rating firm Moody’s Investors Service, said: “Even though their risk appetite may be larger than other firms, they are generally more proactive in risk management.”

[Derby]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-inflation-problem-it-has-none-ea9a27f7

China’s Inflation Problem? It Has None

Falling prices at the factory gate and subdued increases in the costs of consumer goods contrast with searing inflation in many countries

SINGAPORE—As Western central banks continue to jack up interest rates in an effort to douse stubbornly high inflation, China faces a growing risk of the opposite problem—deflation.

Prices charged by Chinese factories tumbled in May at their steepest annual pace in seven years, while consumer prices barely budged, fresh signs of the challenges faced by the world’s second-largest economy both at home and abroad.

Economists say the absence of inflationary pressure means China could experience a spell of deflation—a widespread fall in prices—if the economy doesn’t pick up soon.

Persistent deflation tends to throttle growth and can be difficult to escape. While a prolonged period of falling prices probably isn’t in the cards, Chinese policy makers will nonetheless need to do more to stave off that risk and get the economy motoring again, economists say, perhaps by trimming interest rates, weakening the currency or offering cash or other spending inducements to households and businesses. (...)

[Derby]

https://www.pymnts.com/travel-payments/2023/france-to-close-tax-loophole-for-airbnb-and-short-term-rentals/

France to Close Tax Loophole for Airbnb and Short-Term Rentals

France is taking steps to close a tax loophole and end the more favorable tax treatment short-term furnished rentals such as AirBnB receive compared to long-term rentals.

“We are going to reform the tax rules and I will make proposals. When a windfall gets too big and tax is too favorable, there is no reason to keep such tax treatment that leads to excess,” France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in an interview with BFM TV, according to Reuters.

This move comes after a trio of cross-party lawmakers last month called for rules regulating such rentals to be tightened, as the growing popularity of short-term rentals is often blamed for reducing the supply of housing in many big French cities, which are already facing housing shortages.

The call for tighter regulations in France also comes as nearly 20% of people in Paris who do not already rent their home or part of it on AirBnB plan to do so during next year’s Olympic Games, according to a survey commissioned by AirBnB from pollsters Ifop.

French tax authorities have clashed with Airbnb before. In 2020, they set a deadline for the company to send them data under a law that compels marketplaces to provide revenue and other company information to the country.

Another French law said that Airbnb must give local governments information about housing, such as the number of guests staying and the names and addresses of the hosts.

More recently, on June 1, Airbnb sued New York City over a new law that it claims amounts to a “de facto ban” on short-term rentals.

The law, known as Local Law 18, is set to go into effect in July and will limit the number of people who can host rentals in the city, which remains one of the company’s most important markets.

Airbnb is challenging the new scheme, calling it an “extreme and oppressive” policy that clashes with a federal law that has shielded many tech platforms from liability for content posted by its users.

The new challenge in France comes at a time when Airbnb is moving to expand into overseas markets.

The firm highlighted its recent pilots in Brazil and Germany as part of this effort during a May 9 earnings call.

“Airbnb is still underpenetrated in many markets around the world, so we’re increasing our focus on these less mature markets,” Airbnb Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky said during the call, adding that Brazil and Germany are now “two of our fastest growing markets.”

[Derby]

https://twitter.com/SSidespin/status/1666439911954685952

[Cadavre Exquis]

https://twitter.com/geoestratego/status/1667851133916704769

WEF demands 75% global reduction of cars by 2050
The WEF’s latest agenda item is to reduce global private car ownership by 75%

TCS WIRE | June 8, 2023

The World Economic Forum (WEF) Great Reset agenda was on full blast recently after the organization published a blueprint to drastically cut the number of personal vehicles globally from 1.45 billion to 500 million by the year 2050.

WEF demands 75% global reduction of cars by 2050

If achieved, the massive cut to car ownership would be a 75% reduction in the total number of cars in the entire world.

Why do we need personal vehicles if we’re all confined to our WEF-mandated 15-minute cities anyways, right?

The white paper titled The Urban Mobility Scorecard Tool: Benchmarking the Transition to Sustainable Urban Mobility was co-authored with Visa and demands that municipalities put limits on the use of private cars.

At its core is a tool called the “Urban Mobility Scorecard,” which measures how well cities are performing in four areas: shared, electric, connected and automated transportation along with other UN-style sustainable development goals.

The paper also showcases three cities that have participated in a pilot test of the tool: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Curitiba, Brazil; and Singapore.

“The capital of Argentina is seeking to enhance sustainable mobility to keep people moving while offering more connected, integrated transport,” writes the WEF.

According to the document, by following these recommendations, cities can achieve a 95% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from urban mobility, a claim it makes without any hard evidence.

The paper argues that it will require “public-private collaboration” at a global scale to complete their goals.

“No one city, or one company, can achieve this vision alone,” the WEF states.

“Through strong public-private collaboration, we can find innovative, impactful, and context-sensitive solutions for mobility to enable a sustainable future for cities.”

Its latest tool is in line with the WEF’s plan that by 2030 “you’ll own nothing and be happy.”

As previously reported by The Counter Signal, the Trudeau Liberals signed a WEF-led charter

Saludos.

[Derby]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FyBiF0UWIAANau9

In China, Young Graduates Are Selling Their Knowledge on the Streets

Facing a difficult job market, highly educated Chinese have found a new way to monetize their degrees: “knowledge street vending.”

[saturno]

No entiendo bien el proyecto traido por Cadavre
¿Quieren urbanizar todo el planeta?

Requalificarlo todo según un patrón urbano y... ¿que todo sea pisito?

[Derby]

https://www.siliconvalley.com/2023/06/11/10000-to-move-into-a-new-apartment-bill-would-give-california-renters-a-break-on-high-security-deposits/

$10,000 to move into a new apartment? Bill would give California renters a break on high security deposits

The measure would cap deposits at one month's rent for most units

In California, it’s perfectly legal for landlords to ask renters to cough up more than $10,000 before handing over the keys to a new apartment.

That’s because under state law, property owners can charge up to two months’ rent as a security deposit, on top of the initial lease payment. For a furnished unit, deposits can be as much as three months’ rent.

But a new bill making its way through Sacramento aims to put an end to those high charges, capping security deposits at one month’s rent for most apartments, condos and single-family homes.

The measure would provide relief to many of California’s roughly 17 million renters already struggling to afford the state’s exorbitant rental prices, said Matt Haney, the Democratic state assemblymember from San Francisco behind the bill.

“The result of these high security deposits is families are either taking on debt to afford them or staying in housing situations that are crowded, insufficient or even unsafe,” said Haney, a member of the Legislature’s recently launched renters caucus.

The proposed legislation, known as Assembly Bill 12, passed the state Assembly with overwhelming support last month and is currently being considered by the Senate. Most Republican assembly members, who make up a small minority in the chamber, voted against it. Some argued the new regulations would only exacerbate the state’s dire housing shortage by convincing landlords to get out of the rental market.

Michael Wonders, a retiree on a fixed income, couldn’t have afforded the $1,300 security deposit on his San Francisco low-income apartment without the money he received to move from his previous apartment when the landlord took it off the rental market.

But if he had to move again, he might not have enough for a new deposit that’s more than a month’s rent.

“It would be a concern,” Wonders said. “It’s hard to save money these days.”

Haney said he got the idea for the bill after meeting a janitor in his district who worked two full-time jobs but couldn’t move his wife and two young children out of their one-bedroom apartment because he was unable to afford a deposit for a larger unit. The measure, backed by various labor and anti-poverty groups, wouldn’t change how property owners can recoup costs for damages or add any restrictions on what landlords can charge for rent.

“This is a common sense and fair way to ensure California residents can access and afford housing,” Haney said.

Landlords, however, argue current regulations on security deposits are already strict enough. They say Haney’s bill could put many property owners in financial peril if a tenant damages a unit or fails to pay rent.

“Rental property owners and managers typically use security deposits to accommodate higher-risk applicants (with prior evictions, no credit history, low credit score, etc.),” Derek Barnes, chief executive of the East Bay Rental Housing Association, said in an email. “With no exemptions in the bill, it also hurts small rental property owners who have already suffered losses over the last three years due to prolonged eviction moratoriums.”

Haney responded that a one-month security deposit — especially given the state’s steep rental prices — should be enough to cover damages in most cases. Landlords can also still recover costs in court, Haney said, though property owners contend many mom-and-pop landlords lack the resources to do so.

He also pointed out that nationwide, a dozen states as politically diverse as Alabama, Delaware and New York already have similar laws on the books.

Still, Haney said he’s open to making changes, including possible exemptions for small landlords renting single-family homes. But he’s confident the bill will pass with its core intact.

“We need to build a lot more housing and a lot more affordable housing,” he said, “but this is something we can do right now to lessen the burden of housing costs.”

[Derby]

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/billionaire-george-soros-hands-control-empire-son-wsj-2023-06-11/

Billionaire George Soros hands control of empire to son, Wall Street Journal reports

June 11 (Reuters) - Billionaire financier George Soros told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Sunday that he was handing control of his massive empire to his son, Alexander Soros.

A hedge fund manager turned philanthropist and major backer of liberal causes, Soros, 92, said he previously didn't want his Open Society Foundations (OSF) to be taken over by one of his five children.

But speaking of his decision to turn over the foundation and the rest of his $25 billion empire to his son, Alexander, 37, who goes by Alex, the elder Soros said: "He's earned it."(...)