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Morgan Stanley’s Penny-Stock Shenanigans in Spain

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Morgan Stanley’s Penny-Stock Shenanigans in Spain

This is so bad, it’s almost funny. It happened May 31, at the end of the month, Friday afternoon, when no one was supposed to pay attention, minutes before the close of the stock market, when volume had died down to a trickle, and when the move was guaranteed to produce huge results.

Lobbying And GMO Giant Monsanto Buckles In Europe

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Lobbying And GMO Giant Monsanto Buckles In Europe

The “March Against Monsanto” in 52 countries, an unapproved strain of its genetically modified wheat growing on its own in Oregon, cancelled wheat export orders…. A rough week for Monsanto. Now it threw in the towel in Europe where its deep pockets and mastery of lobbying had failed: “It’s counterproductive to fight against windmills,” it explained.

Industry Insider: Creative Destruction And Opportunity In The Bloodied Solar Industry

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Industry Insider: Creative Destruction And Opportunity In The Bloodied Solar Industry

“Yes, the industry is in collapse mode, but it is not all bad, it is just a healthy shakeup needed in a maturing industry,” an insider wrote in an email. Then he offered what he called “a slightly less gloomy take on the industry and with 50% more silver lining as well.”

Next Shoe To Drop: Shoddy Solar Panels From China

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Next Shoe To Drop: Shoddy Solar Panels From China

The solar-panel price war waged by state-subsidized Chinese companies killed a slew of manufacturers worldwide. Now, much of solar-panel manufacturing takes place in China. To stay alive, they cut costs – and corners. Defects are ballooning. And “cheap” solar panels suddenly get very expensive. A cruel twist for an already threatened industry.

US Housing Bubble II: Euphoria And Other Shenanigans

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on US Housing Bubble II: Euphoria And Other Shenanigans

The good old days are back. Those days when money grew on trees: home prices jumped 10.9% year over year, based on data through March 2013. The usual suspects: Phoenix soared 22.5%, San Francisco 22.2%, Las Vegas 20.6%. You can’t lose money in real estate. I’m already hearing it again.

French Consumer Confidence Plunges To Financial-Crisis Low

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on French Consumer Confidence Plunges To Financial-Crisis Low

The confidence of consumers in France is catching up with the economic situation in their country, where the state sector, which dominates the land with 56% of the economic activity, has been hobbled by budget woes, and where the private sector, which is struggling with an inscrutable labor code and slack demand, is suffocating under a pile of new taxes.

The Financial Takeover of “Our” Newspapers

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on The Financial Takeover of “Our” Newspapers

Contributed by Don Quijones: “In a newspaper like El País it is no longer possible to criticize the main Spanish banks. And you have to be very careful when talking about the Government, in case it gets angry: its benevolence is needed in order to avoid bankruptcy.”

Black Market or Bust: The Stark Choice Facing Many of Spain’s Self-Employed

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Black Market or Bust: The Stark Choice Facing Many of Spain’s Self-Employed

Contributed by Don Quijones: As bank lending has dried up, Spain’s government has barely lifted a finger to help struggling self-employed workers or small enterprises. Instead, it apparently made it its mission to make their working lives as difficult as possible by ramping up their tax burden to historic highs.

Iron-Fisted Bank Of Japan Is Losing Its Grip

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Iron-Fisted Bank Of Japan Is Losing Its Grip

Stability in the Japanese government bond market is “extremely desirable,” said Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda in a sign of just how frazzled he was after the turmoil and craziness that his over-the-edge experimental monetary policy has unleashed. But as stability eludes him, he might resort to ever more desperate measures to just hang on.

Government by Eurocrats: The EU Olive-Oil Dispenser Debacle

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Government by Eurocrats: The EU Olive-Oil Dispenser Debacle

Like so many debacles in the EU, it started with the unelected European Commission. It’s immune to voters, but not to lobbyists and corporations. Under the guise of “consumer protection” or some other harmless moniker, it generates zany laws that tend to benefit large corporations. But last week, it went too far, even for Europeans.