Tobin tax poses even greater threat to economic recovery of the member states than anything else

The banks got us all into this mess so I know what we’ll do; we’ll slap a tax on every single financial transaction. That’ll teach them to trade risky products and threaten the global economy with collapse again in the future.

The Tobin tax proposed by the President of the European Commission is probably an even greater threat to the economic recovery of its member states than anything else and risks driving vast amounts of taxpaying businesses that employ millions of Europeans out of Europe. Whilst it’s not clear exactly how the whole thing will work as it stands it could conceivably be that every bond, share, FX, commodity and any other asset class deal transacted will have a tax added to it, possibly even our very own spread bet and CFD transactions. The cost of dealing would soar and it would affect all exchanges, inter dealer brokers, banks, stock brokers, and FX brokers (to name but a few) in the whole of the eurozone. The resultant loss in tax gleaned from these firms due to lower revenues or even simply because they relocate could conceivably dwarf the tax generated. If politicians are still hell bent on gaining the populist vote by being seen to be tough on the banks then surely it’s the banks they should be targeting and not every single institution that facilitates a financial transaction

HOAGLAND: No economic recovery with Obamacare

Small businesses can’t grow while federal mandate threatens

To satisfy the enduring public judgment that Obamacare will harm the nation, there are three paths to repeal: Congress, the courts and the ballot box. The White House has signaled a willingness to expedite resolution by the Supreme Court of the constitutional question at the same time that it ignores or downplays those remedies available to the citizenry.

Job creation critical for economic recovery: Finley

OTTAWA — Canada's human resources minister says her G20 counterparts agree job creation must be front-and-centre in economic recovery plans.

Diane Finley has wrapped up two days of meetings with her counterparts in Paris.

She says there is an urgent need to link economic recovery with jobs and particularly with jobs for young people.

Sales of new U.S. homes dip in August

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The sale of new single-family homes fell in August for the fourth month in a row, indicating that the depressed U.S. housing market shows no signs of recovery.

Sales dropped 2.3% last month to an annual rate of 295,000, the lowest level since February, the Commerce Department said Monday. After peaking in 2011 at 316,000 in April, new-home sales have gradually declined.

U.S. wheat outlook: Seen up as dryness supports price recovery

CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--U.S. wheat futures are expected to start higher Monday as concerns about dryness reducing global output help prices rebound from two-month lows.

Traders predict soft red winter wheat for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, will open up one cent to three cents a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade. In overnight electronic trading, the contract ended up 1 3/4 cents, or 0.3%, at $6.42 1/2 a bushel after dropping as low as $6.24 1/4 a bushel.

Obama Says Better Public School System Key to Economic Recovery

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said improving the nation’s public schools is crucial to the U.S.’s economic recovery as he highlighted his decision to let states sidestep the No Child Left Behind law by raising education standards.

“Education is an essential part of this economic agenda,” the president said today in a weekly radio and Internet address that urged Congress to pass his $447 billion jobs plan that includes money for teachers and schools. “It is an undeniable fact that countries who out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow. Businesses will hire wherever the highly skilled, highly trained workers are located.”

David Cameron's treatment risks killing the patient

The economy needs more spending, not less.

On the eve of last weekend’s IMF meeting in Washington, David Cameron was waxing lyrical on the need to boost economic recovery by reducing deficits. Yet this treatment is at serious risk of killing the patient.

There seems to be a widespread lack of appreciation of the difference between the economics of a household and a country. A household can improve its financial position either by increasing its income or by cutting its expenditure. But this isn’t true for the economic system as a whole. For when you reduce your expenditure, you also reduce somebody else’s income. What’s more, they may then reduce their spending, thereby reducing somebody else’s income, and so on and so forth. The key point is that to achieve economic recovery, someone, somewhere has to spend more. This is not an economic hypothesis. It is a matter of logic.

Economic recovery has begun in Northern Colorado

The Northern Colorado Business Report Monthly Growth Rate was strongly positive in July, the result of a doubling of institutional construction commitments in Larimer County, specifically at colleges and universities. The growth rate was also positive in May and June after being negative for most of the first part of the year. It would appear that economic recovery has started in Northern Colorado.

The Index of Economic Growth in Northern Colorado also jumped up in May, June and July. July was well above levels reached early in 2010. The July rate of growth cannot be maintained, but I do expect slow, moderate growth to occur in the Northern Colorado economy.

Is Ford (F) CEO Alan Mulally, Right About An Economic Recovery?

With so much turmoil surrounding the stock market this week, a lot of investors are left scratching their heads and wondering if the U.S. economy is really in recovery, or if a double-dip recession is looming on the horizon.

According to Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford Motor (F), people should try to relax a little and accept that the economy is definitely in recovery, but it will be a long process that requires a bit of patience on everyone's part. When asked in a recent interview about his view on the economy, Mulally stated that "we're generally on the right track", but went on to say that it was going to a prolonged process and that it will be a slower recovery than we have ever had.

IMF Chief: Government Debt Could Stifle Economic Recovery

The head of the International Monetary Fund says economic recovery is still possible, but it is getting harder. In Washington, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Thursday that troubled economies have fewer resources now than at the start of the 2008 financial crisis.

Lagarde said the world economy is in a dangerous phase and that countries could use the cooperative spirt that helped major economies take action at the height of the financial crisis.

New construction industry alliance to foster economic recovery launched in Liverpool

A NEW alliance putting the construction and engineering sectors at the heart of the region’s economic recovery is being launched in Liverpool.

The North West Construction Industry Alliance will be inaugurated at the annual debate and dinner of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association at the city’s Crowne Plaza hotel tomorrow.

Nick Clegg: economic recovery will be a long hard road

There is a ''long, hard road ahead'' for the British economy, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will admit today as he closes the Liberal Democrat conference.

The International Monetary Fund's decision to downgrade the UK's growth forecasts has heightened fears of a double dip recession, and Mr Clegg will acknowledge the recovery is ''fragile''.

New Construction Data Indicate Stagnation in Economic Recovery, Says Covendium

New home construction was down 5% in August, according to a new report by the Department of Commerce. The data indicate full economic recovery is still out of reach, as new home construction has historically been an important factor in post-recession economic growth. The commercial sector is also lagging-the newest Dodge Index report indicates nonresidential construction starts fell 6% from June to July. Covendium, the nation's largest debtor-side commercial debt restructuring and advisory firm, says the economy cannot fully recover without a significant jump in new construction rates.

Obama Pledges ‘Coordinated Action’ With Allies to Sustain Global Recovery

President Barack Obama used the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to press leaders, in public and private, to take “coordinated action” to prevent the world’s economy from slipping into a recession.

As a bid by Palestinians for United Nations recognition dominated discussions at the world body in New York, Obama conferred with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on finding a way to sustain a fragile recovery amid the European debt crisis and sluggish U.S. growth.

Greek default, new crisis essential for Europe's economic recovery

Greece is on the verge of bankruptcy. This week, European Commission experts will arrive in Greece to work with its government on a new set of to help the country meet the criteria for receiving another bailout from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But there is little hope that financial aid can save Greece. The German government is already analyzing scenarios of a Greek default, which many experts consider inevitable. Meanwhile, Christian Lindner, the general secretary of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), said on Sept. 12 that he does not rule out Greece's withdrawal from the eurozone.

Seaports: A key to economic recovery

President Obama’s recent speech outlining his plan for the American Jobs Act focused on several tactics that he believes will put people back to work and get our economy back on track. However, as the U.S. continues to confront the need for both economic austerity and job creation for the 9.1 percent of unemployed Americans, one of the nation’s oldest and largest economic drivers – seaports – continues to be overlooked.

By increasing our investment in America’s seaports, we can create high-paying, sustainable jobs that will put Americans back to work. Just last year, U.S. exports supported an estimated 9.2 million jobs. This means that for every $1 billion of exported goods,more than 5,000 jobs are supported.

BOJ's Miyao Highlights Risks for Japan Recovery

TOKYO—Bank of Japan policy board member Ryuzo Miyao said on Wednesday that the central bank will take action if necessary to stop downside risks from undermining the nation's economic recovery, bolstering the view that the BOJ may soon take further easing steps to counter the impact of the strong yen and slowing overseas demand.

"I hope the powerful recovery, mainly in production, will continue after the autumn, but there are several uneasy factors," which include the possibility of slower overseas demand, the yen's stubborn uptrend, potentially higher electricity costs and expectations for prolonged deflation, Mr. Miyao told business leaders in Hakodate, northern Japan.

Is Government deluded over economic recovery?

It was never going to be an easy task to recover from the last economic downturn.

And now, it seems, that the UK Government is facing an even tougher challenge to avoid being dragged into a second - so-called double-dip recession - due to global events beyond its control.

The US economy and the increasingly desperate plight of the euro zone are wrecking global economic growth opportunities.

Global Interest Rate announcements this week

What are the stories behind the interest rate announcements this week?

With the fear of rising inflation having been replaced by the reality of economic stagnation across North America, Europe and certain parts of Asia we take look at the economies of the five different economic zones who announced their latest interest rates this week.

Australia's economy grows by 1.2% in the second quarter

Australia's economy bounced back in the last quarter as it looked to recover from earlier floods and cyclones.

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.2% in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter, the statistical bureau said.

That compares with a contraction of 0.9% in the first three months of the year.

Shares fall on eurozone debt and world economy fears

US and European shares have both fallen as concerns continue about the high level of eurozone debt, as well as the risk of a return to recession on both sides of the Atlantic.

Wall Street's main Dow Jones index was down 1.9%, while France's Cac fell 1.1% and Germany's Dax closed 1% lower.

In London, the FTSE 100 index bucked the trend, rising 1.1%.

Key to economic recovery: higher wages

This summer we’ve seen wild swings in the stock market, a last-minute debt deal, and even a rocking east coast earthquake. But one thing we haven’t seen – from Memorial Day to Labor Day – is any improvement in the economy.

There are 14 million Americans officially counted as unemployed -- many of them for over six months. If you count people who have given up looking for work, the number of Americans out of work climbs to over 17 million. Even people fortunate enough to keep their jobs have seen wages frozen or even cut. Families across the country are struggling to make ends meet.