Labor

Submitted by Leonard Brecken via OilPrice.com,

During the 1990s, developing nations including Mexico and many in Asia became very competitive manufacturing bases due to lower wage structures. This, I believe, was the root cause of the use of failed fiscal and monetary policy to “close the gap” with the competitiveness of low-cost wage structures around the world, which has played out for three decades. The result has been three bubbles and a worsening systemic problem of wage and taxation disparity between the U.S. and developing nations.

A leaflet offering cleaning services with different wages according to the ethnicity of workers, has sparked criticism and charges of racism after it was discovered in Tel Aviv, Israel over the weekend.  The leaflet purports to help people who are looking for a legally documented cleaner, but who doesn’t wish to hire an Arab “for security reasons”. Timesofisrael.com reports: According to the ad, a cleaner of African origin costs NIS 49 ($12.69) an hour, while one of Eastern European origin is priced at an hourly rate of NIS 52 ($13.39).

In his final state-of-the-union address, President Obama famously accused anyone who dares to question the strength of the US economic "recovery" of "peddling fiction."

Shortly thereafter, we learned that the US economy grew at a paltry 0.69% in Q4. Below estimates. 

Submitted by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Companies Lose Billions On Stock Buybacks

I recently wrote an article about why “Benchmarking Your Portfolio Is A Losing Bet.” In that missive, I discussed all the things that benefit a mathematically calculated index versus what happens in an actual portfolio of securities. One of those issues was the impact of share buybacks:

British MPs are about to receive a salary boost of nearly £1,000 after the independent parliamentary pay watchdog recommended another rise. The £952  pay rise is the second on in one year and  comes just nine months after the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) signed off a controversial 10 percent pay hike. RT reports: This latest salary rise will see MPs’ pay creep up another 1.3 percent to £74,962 per year, with ministers earning an additional £68,000 on top of that. The decision was made at an IPSA board meeting on January 20.