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Big Oil’s Favorite Subsidy, The Federal Liability Cap for Oil Spills

by Oilprice.com •  • Comments Off on Big Oil’s Favorite Subsidy, The Federal Liability Cap for Oil Spills

Why are most of the damages of an oil spill, such as the BP Deepwater Horizon, picked up by taxpayers? A federal liability cap of a ludicrous $75 million, that’s why. Big oil loves that subsidy and thwarts efforts to raise it to realistic levels.

California Housing Bubble: Now Even Teachers Can No Longer Afford To Buy A Home

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on California Housing Bubble: Now Even Teachers Can No Longer Afford To Buy A Home

Teachers are a symbol of the middle class. In California, they earn on average $69,300 annually, fifth highest in the country. Not exactly a pittance. But it is a ludicrous pittance if they’re trying to buy a home.

Walmart International: Lousy Economies ‘Everywhere We Operate’

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Walmart International: Lousy Economies ‘Everywhere We Operate’

With over 6,400 stores in 26 countries outside the US, Walmart International has smacked into the same problems Walmart has encountered in the US: it’s tough out there.

Without Them, The Housing ‘Recovery’ Remains A Sham

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Without Them, The Housing ‘Recovery’ Remains A Sham

First-time buyers, a powerful economic energy, create real demand and make the housing market grow. We’ve been praying for their arrival like we’ve been praying for rain in parched California. But the more we pray, the fewer there are.

What A Hard Landing In China Might Look Like (If They’re Lucky) Via A Boeing 767

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on What A Hard Landing In China Might Look Like (If They’re Lucky) Via A Boeing 767

China’s enormous, strenuously obfuscated credit bubble has led to flagrant misallocation of capital and spectacular malinvestments eternalized in vast ghost cities. That this will end is clear. How it will, is not. But here is a hold-your-breath version (1-min video).

Corporate Colonialism: Winners and Losers of Global ‘Free’ Trade

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Corporate Colonialism: Winners and Losers of Global ‘Free’ Trade

By Don Quijones: The new trade agreements have little to do with promoting free trade. They’re about extending the power and control of the world’s largest corporations.

“Serious Dysfunctionality” On Wall Street: Facebook-WhatsApp And The Deals That “Marked The Top” Of The Last Two Bubbles

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on “Serious Dysfunctionality” On Wall Street: Facebook-WhatsApp And The Deals That “Marked The Top” Of The Last Two Bubbles

Every bubble has its ultimate, craziest, mostest, farthest-outest deal. Its craziness can no longer be exceeded. Buyers simply vanish. Sellers get desperate. Newfangled theories and metrics sink into a morass of ridicule. And lots of money goes up in smoke.

Rosy Dreams? Conundrum for American LNG Exporters

by Oilprice.com •  • Comments Off on Rosy Dreams? Conundrum for American LNG Exporters

Natural gas prices in the US hovered between $2 and $4 per million btu for years, while reaching $19 in Japan. The industry is pushing for permits to export LNG, hoping for an easy arbitrage opportunity. But the markets may bite back.

The Madness of Abenomics In One (Crazy) Chart

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on The Madness of Abenomics In One (Crazy) Chart

Abenomics, a democratically elected economic religion, was to save Japan. But the plan has already gone to heck. Not in small increments over the years with minor ups and downs, but in relentless month-to-month leaps whose viciousness surprised even the deep cynic in me.

Housing Bubble II: What’s Ruining Home Sales? Not The Weather!

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Housing Bubble II: What’s Ruining Home Sales? Not The Weather!

OK, I get it. Life-threatening cold temperatures, polar vortices, and snow mayhem can put a damper on home construction, mortgage applications, first-time buyers, and home-builder confidence. But they also plunged on the West Coast where the weather was gorgeous.