PPCC: Pisitófilos Creditófagos. Otoño 2023

[Derby]

https://www.ft.com/content/b0e7ee4b-91f9-4c6f-8898-f2d06848b9ea

Javier Milei summons divine assistance to help cure Argentina’s ills

New president frames struggle against soaring inflation and chronic overspending in mystical terms

Facing one of the world’s toughest economic challenges, it was perhaps not entirely surprising that Argentina’s new president Javier Milei would invoke divine assistance.

But Milei’s choice of the Maccabean revolt by the Jewish people in the second century BC as the inspiration for his fledgling insurgent government came as a surprise in a Latin American nation where religion has not played a central role in politics for decades.

“Victory in battle does not depend on the number of soldiers but rather upon the strength that comes from heaven,” Milei said, quoting a biblical passage, while noting that his inauguration came during the Jewish festival of lights, Hannukah, “the triumph of light over darkness”.

A political novice, Milei only won his first elected office just over two years ago and his La Libertad Avanza party has only a small minority of seats in congress. The former TV pundit and economist, who was inaugurated on Sunday, now faces what he called the “titanic challenge” of taming triple-digit inflation, reining in chronic government overspending and restoring Argentina to sustainable growth.

Milei delivered his inauguration speech with his back to congress in a symbolic repudiation of Argentina’s political class to a cheering crowd of supporters outside. His diagnosis was that a once-glorious nation had squandered its position as a leading global economy more than a century ago by turning its back on the liberal policies that had enriched it and embracing “collectivism”.

Sergio Berensztein, who runs a political consultancy in Buenos Aires, said Milei’s interpretation of his election victory in a second round run-off as a mandate for a “new social contract” with Argentines based on his ultraliberal ideas was seriously flawed.

“In the second round you choose between two candidates, which doesn’t mean that you buy the whole package that candidate has in his head.” Almost half the electorate “did not vote for him in the first round or the primaries”.

In a sign of possible trouble ahead, Argentina’s outgoing vice-president and former president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the doyenne of the Peronist hard left, raised a finger to waiting protesters and struck a defiant posture inside congress during the inauguration, dressed in red to stand out amid the dark suits around her.

The foreign dignitaries attending Sunday’s inauguration reflected Milei’s ideological preferences, rather than Argentina’s traditional regional and global alliances. Pride of place went to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen by Milei as a champion of freedom. There was also a warm welcome for Hungary’s hard-right leader Viktor Orbán, and for Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Latin America’s three leading leftwing presidents — Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro — all stayed away from the inauguration, while the US was represented by energy secretary Jennifer Granholm. Chile’s President Gabriel Boric, another regional leftwinger, did come.

The American choice of a cabinet-level official was in line with Washington’s previous representation at Argentine presidential inaugurations, despite Milei’s overt display of admiration for President Joe Biden’s biggest political rival, former president Donald Trump.

Milei was brought up as a Catholic, the dominant religion in Argentina, but says he is interested in converting to Judaism and mixed his evolving personal faith with his initial gestures in office. He presented Zelenskyy with a menorah when receiving him at the presidential palace and it later emerged that his rabbi, Axel Wahnish, would become ambassador to Israel with a brief to move the Argentine embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Argentina has Latin America’s biggest Jewish community, numbering about 200,000, but some are wary of Milei’s use of their religion and its symbols, particularly at a sensitive time internationally with Israel’s war in Gaza. Many remember vividly the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s worst terrorism attack, in which 85 people were killed and hundreds more injured.

“If Milei succeeds, nobody will remember his Jewish connection but if he fails, everyone will blame us,” said one Jewish Argentine member of the business community.

Notable on Milei’s first full day in office was the absence of a long-trailed announcement of a shock package of economic reforms. An early morning press conference brought only the news that measures would be announced the following day, something commentators said reflected the chaotic and improvised nature of the new government.(...)

[Cadavre Exquis]

https://twitter.com/elcrackdel23/status/1734514136006992280

https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2023-12-12/el-corte-ingles-renueva-sus-emisiones-de-pagares-por-1200-millones-pese-a-pagar-mas-de-un-4.html

Saludos.

[Cadavre Exquis]

https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2023-12-11/ugt-se-opone-a-las-salidas-forzosas-en-el-ere-de-telefonica-y-pide-una-reduccion-del-numero-de-afectados.html

https://www.pressreader.com/spain/Cinco-Dias/20231212/page/5/textview

Lleida.net anuncia más recortes de personal y cierre de filiales ante el descenso de ventas

Saludos.

[Cadavre Exquis]

https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2023-12-11/lear-acuerda-un-ere-para-sus-159-trabajadores-en-almussafes.html

Saludos.

[Cadavre Exquis]

https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2023-12-12/la-inversion-inmobiliaria-en-logistica-se-hundira-en-2023-y-2024.html

https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2023-12-11/sareb-engorda-sus-perdidas-un-15-en-el-primer-semestre-hasta-los-824-millones.html

Saludos.

[Cadavre Exquis]

https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2023-12-11/el-bce-eleva-los-requisitos-de-capital-de-santander-para-2024.html

Saludos.

[Cadavre Exquis]

https://cincodias.elpais.com/economia/2023-12-11/la-compraventa-de-vivienda-cae-un-11-interanual-en-octubre-y-las-hipotecas-un-224-segun-los-registradores.html

Saludos.

[Derby]

En Hungría...
Lo interesante de las noticias extranjeras es que ya todo el mundo está centrado en las bajadas de precios del mercado de la vivienda.

Los precios de la vivienda siguieron cayendo, pero no estemos tan contentos

El próximo año, el mercado inmobiliario podría repuntar, lo que podría volver a subir los precios.

El índice ingatlan.com de precios de la vivienda cayó un 0,2 por ciento en noviembre. Por supuesto, la caída no es uniforme en todas partes: en Budapest, por ejemplo, una caída de precios del 0,7 por ciento en octubre fue seguida por un aumento del 0,1 por ciento en los precios en noviembre.

"Todavía era más barato comprar un apartamento en el mercado inmobiliario de Budapest en noviembre que a finales de septiembre, a pesar de la tasa positiva cero de cambio de precios. Los precios de los bienes raíces en Transdanubia Occidental y Meridional disminuyeron un 2,5 y un 0,9 por ciento en un mes, respectivamente, y la región de la Gran Llanura del Sur también se caracterizó por una disminución del 1,8 por ciento en los precios en noviembre. Sin embargo, en el mercado inmobiliario de la región de la Gran Llanura del Norte, se observó un aumento del 1,4 por ciento el mes pasado", dijo László Balogh, experto económico jefe de ingatlan.com.

Sin embargo, agregó que es demasiado pronto para hablar de tendencias sostenidas: "Todavía hay mucha incertidumbre, pero el próximo año el mercado de la vivienda podría tener un año más fuerte que en 2023". La razón de esto es que cada vez más personas están interesadas en apartamentos y casas en venta, principalmente debido a los nuevos planes de apoyo a la vivienda que comienzan el próximo año. La caída en las tasas de los préstamos hipotecarios también puede impulsar el mercado al atraer a los afectados por decenas de miles de compras de propiedades residenciales que se pospusieron anteriormente.(...)

[Derby]

https://www.wiwo.de/finanzen/immobilien/immobilienmarkt-neun-von-zehn-hauseigentuemern-haben-zu-hohe-preiserwartungen/29552718.html

Nueve de cada diez propietarios tienen expectativas de precios demasiado altas

La crisis en el mercado inmobiliario se está extendiendo. Según una nueva encuesta de corredores, muchos vendedores esperan que los precios sean significativamente demasiado altos. Las ventas también se están volviendo más difíciles de otras maneras.

El mercado inmobiliario está evolucionando cada vez más de un mercado de vendedores a un mercado de compradores. Así lo demuestra una nueva encuesta realizada a agentes inmobiliarios alemanes por la red de agentes inmobiliarios Remax. Nueve de cada diez corredores encuestados afirmaron que los vendedores tenían expectativas de precios demasiado altas. Al mismo tiempo, es cada vez menos probable que los propietarios vendan su propiedad al precio deseado.

El tiempo que tarda una propiedad en venderse también ha aumentado significativamente. Dos de cada tres corredores hablan de un tiempo medio de comercialización de cuatro a seis meses. Se encuestó a 100 corredores en once estados federales.(...)

[Derby]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/inflation-creeps-higher-cpi-shows-on-higher-rents-and-used-car-prices-dff5b74f

Inflation is sticky in November, CPI shows, on higher rents and used-car prices

Core CPI rises 0.3% in November, but Fed still expected to stand pat

(...) Key details: The cost of gasoline dropped 6% last month and held down the headline CPI reading.

The cost of food climbed a mild 0.2% last month. Grocery prices are rising more slowly after a big surge in the past few years.

Omitting food and gas, the core rate of inflation was sticky in November. The chief reason: Higher shelter prices, the biggest expense for most families.

Rents jumped 0.5% on the month and are up 6.9% in the past year.

Economists say the cost of shelter is likely to taper off in the months ahead because rents aren’t rising as fast. Changes in rents and housing prices tend to show up with a lag of six months or more, based on how they are calculated in the CPI report.

If shelter costs recede, inflation is likely to slow more rapidly in 2024 toward the Fed’s goal, economists say.(...)

[Derby]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-12/hungarian-lawmakers-back-golden-visa-plan-for-property-investors

Hungarian Lawmakers Back Golden Visa Plan for Property Investors

Hungary is poised to start a new initiative allowing foreign real estate investors to seek residency permits in the European Union nation, six years after the authorities closed down a similar golden-visa program amid allegations of corruption.

Lawmakers in Budapest on Tuesday backed the introduction of a “guest-investor program” that would allow those who put at least €250,000 ($270,000) into local property funds or €500,000 into Hungarian real estate the right to apply for a 10-year, renewable residency permit.(...)

[Derby]

El conundrum...

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/november-inflation-breakdown-where-are-prices-still-rising-fastest

November inflation breakdown: Where are prices still rising the fastest?

Inflation eases in November amid big drop in gas prices

Inflation continued to ease in November as a steep drop in gasoline prices helped to offset the rising cost of housing, medical care and new cars.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price of everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries and rent, rose 0.1% in November from the previous month, slightly more than expected.

Prices climbed 3.1% from the same time last year, which is in line with estimates by Refinitiv economists, and down from the 3.2% recorded in October.

"Falling inflation does not mean that prices are falling. In fact, prices for just about everything are still higher than they were before the pandemic," said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.

Here is a breakdown of where Americans are seeing prices rising and falling the fastest as they continue to wrestle with sticker shock.

Rent

Housing costs were the biggest driver of core inflation last month. Rent costs rose 0.5% for the month and are up 6.5% from the same time last year.

Rising rents are concerning because higher housing costs most directly and acutely affect household budgets. Another data point that measures how much homeowners would pay in equivalent rent if they had not bought their home climbed by 0.5% from the previous month.

"Housing costs, in particular, are weighing on many individuals and families," Sturtevant said. "Rent pressures have started to ease in some regions, which will eventually be reflected in the CPI numbers. Home prices, however, are still on the rise in much of the country."

Food

Food has been one of the most visceral reminders of red-hot inflation for Americans. In November, the cost of groceries increased for the eighth straight month.

Grocery prices climbed 0.1% over the course of the month, according to the data. On an annual basis, prices remain up 1.7% compared with the same time last year.

Consumers paid more for a number of staples in November, with the price rising for eggs (2.2%), breakfast cereal (0.8%), apples (0.4%), citrus fruits (3.2%), potatoes (4.6%), carbonated drinks (1.5%), coffee (0.4%) and butter (4.3%).

There were some substantial declines in food prices last month. The cost of bread, beef and veal, pork, ham, chicken, bananas and bread fell last month.

Energy

Energy prices dropped substantially in November for the second straight month. Prices fell 2.3% over the course of November, including a 6% drop in gasoline.

Gasoline costs had previously been trending upward following major supply cuts by OPEC+ and turmoil in the Middle East.

The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline fell to $3.36 last month, according to AAA. Prices have continued to fall since then, with the average cost hovering around $3.13 on Tuesday

Cars

There was some good news for Americans looking to buy a new car in November.

The cost of new cars and trucks inched lower last month, falling 0.1%. New vehicle prices remain up 1.3% year over year.

But used car and truck prices – which were a major component of the inflation spike last year – unexpectedly jumped 1.6% in November amid the UAW strike against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors.

Prices remain down 3.8% compared with the same time last year.

Travel and Transportation

Airline fares continued to fall in November, dropping about 0.4%. The cost of tickets is down about 12.1% when compared with last year, according to the data.

[neutron_mortgages]

El mundo depende del lenguaje COBOL y casi no hay desarrolladores que lo conozcan. IBM decía tener la solución, pero no

IBM anunció este verano una herramienta de inteligencia artificial que permitiría convertir COBOL en otros lenguajes más usados como Java

Ahora sabemos que esa herramienta sigue necesitando a un desarrollador para un buen resultado final, pero faltan profesionales

https://www.genbeta.com/desarrollo/mundo-depende-lenguaje-cobol-casi-no-hay-desarrolladores-que-conozcan-ibm-decia-tener-solucion-no/amp

Combo NO-AI + NO hay curritos, me se de uno que le va a encantar la noticia …

[Derby]

https://www.statista.com/chart/18344/year-over-year-change-of-the-consumer-price-index-for-all-urban-consumers/

[Benzino Napaloni]

El mundo depende del lenguaje COBOL y casi no hay desarrolladores que lo conozcan. IBM decía tener la solución, pero no

IBM anunció este verano una herramienta de inteligencia artificial que permitiría convertir COBOL en otros lenguajes más usados como Java

Ahora sabemos que esa herramienta sigue necesitando a un desarrollador para un buen resultado final, pero faltan profesionales

https://www.genbeta.com/desarrollo/mundo-depende-lenguaje-cobol-casi-no-hay-desarrolladores-que-conozcan-ibm-decia-tener-solucion-no/amp

Combo NO-AI + NO hay curritos, me se de uno que le va a encantar la noticia …

No exageremos .

Bromas y mi merecido pin aparte, no me alegro de "tener razón". Es muy mala señal. El ladrillo pronto va a ser el menor de nuestros problemas. Si la banca digital empieza a petardear, podríamos retroceder tranquilamente un siglo. Súmenle a eso cualquier profesión, ya sea esencial o "de complemento".

Es como lo que decía El Malo, el gordo está al borde del infarto y se tiene que poner a dieta ya mismo. Se tendría que mandar ATPC ya mismo El Pisito y todo lo que huela a obstáculo a la economía real y la producción real. Engominaos fuera de los puestos de dirección. Al mando gente que sepa, y a cuidar como oro en paño a todo el que sepa hacer bien su trabajo. Probablemente sin lujos, pero sin que falte una coma de lo esencial.

Como dirían en b.info, es eso o derroición.