Daily Digest 11/7 - Spain Extends Rescue Fund For Regions, NJ Infastructure No Match For Superstorm

Economy

Spain extends rescue fund for regions into 2013

Spain's government announced Monday it will extend the life of a rescue fund through 2013 to help struggling regions finance crippling debts. Recession-struck Spain's 17 regions have already flooded the rescue fund with cries for help as they try to pay off debts at the same time as slashing budgets to meet stringent deficit targets.

U.S. Vows to Avoid Falling Over Fiscal Cliff Amid G-20 Warning

The U.S., for example, faces a budget gap of 7.3 percent of GDP next year versus 11.2 percent in 2010, and a debt of 114.2 percent of GDP in 2016, compared with 98.6 percent in 2010.

Alleged copper thief suffers multiple burns

Fire investigators along with CenterPoint are looking through an old city building where they have found evidence that is consistent with a copper theft attempt......The man told investigators he was sleeping outside when he woke up and was in flames.

Debt crisis: German economic data is a "catestrophe" say economists

The German finance ministry said factory orders were down 3.3pc in September from the month before shocking economists who had forecast a 0.4pc drop, according to Bloomberg poll.

Taken with figures showing German business confidence has fallen to the lowest in two-and-a-half years, the data was described as “a catastrophe and very bad news” by Thomas Harjes, European economist at Barclays in Frankfurt. “We have a huge problem in the rest of the euro area that now seems to be reaching Germany and its labour market,” he said. “For the coming quarters, the economic outlook is quite gloomy.”

Spain chases soccer clubs for taxes

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he has ordered the taxman to chase Spanish soccer clubs to pay off their huge tax debts.

"Those gentlemen are going to pay and the Treasury has instructions from me about it," Rajoy said on radio station COPE.

Spain 'faces slower growth and bigger deficit'

Struggling Spain, reluctant to call for a debt bailout, faces slower growth and a much bigger public deficit than its government initially expected, according to reports.

G20 backs off on deficit targets, holds firm on global reforms

In the end, the world’s top financial leaders gave a little and held back on a lot. The Group of 20 biggest economies wrapped up their two-day meeting here Monday by easing deficit-reduction targets to ensure countries — such as the fiscally challenged United States and debt-crippled eurozone members — have more time to “recalibrate” their finances to promote growth.

India’s growth could slow to 5.5% this fiscal, says PC

India’s economic growth could slow to as little as 5.5 per cent this fiscal year, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, signalling the possibility that Asia’s third largest economy will expand at its slowest pace in a decade.

Sandy outages hit food stamp recipients

Losing powering, like so many millions in the Northeast did when Sandy hit, creates some basic problems. No lights. No heat, sometimes. No stoves. Also, no money. Cash machines and credit cards swipers weren't working. Neither were were electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which hurt a lot of food stamp users.

Why Retirees Can’t Absorb a Tax Hike

We already have a massive retirement savings shortfall in America. Our pension system is sinking and boomers on average are projected to have just 44% of the income they will need in retirement to maintain their lifestyles. The weak economy has taken a toll on our ability to save. From a retirement perspective, the last thing we need is higher tax rates.

Yet higher rates are almost certainly coming.

Bank of England poised to decide on new stimulus as economy stutters

A DECISION on whether to inject further stimulus into the flagging UK economy appears on a knife-edge this week after growth in the powerhouse services sector slowed to a near two-year low while a post-Olympics retail rebound fizzled out.

Greece faces cliffhanger vote as general strike begins

European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, speaking at a meeting of Group of 20 finance chiefs in Mexico City, said on Monday that a deal must be made at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels on Nov. 12. A European G-20 official, speaking before Rehn and on condition of anonymity, cast doubt on the prospects for that deadline, saying officials may fall short.

NJ's Aging Infrastructure No Match for Superstorm

"The numbers are so big it is going to rely on federal dollars and borrowing," according to Rich Keevey, a member of a state budget crisis task force and former state budget director, whose report projects that the state will have more than $130 billion in needs over the next decade, including $80 billion in transportation costs and $40 billion for wastewater and drinking water.

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