The infamous White House jobs chart
Using a handy graphic found in Mitt Romneyâs economic plan, Iâve updated the Bernstein-Romer jobs chart from 2009 while also incorporating (in green) Wall Street bank forecasts (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan) of where the unemployment rate might be headed.
Two things jump out at me: First, of course, is the incredible underperformance of the $800 billion stimulus. Second, note where the Obama White House thought the unemployment rate would be in 2012 even if no stimulus: around 6 percent or so. Reminds me of how dismissive Obamaâs economic advisers were in 2009 and 2010 of the thesis that downturns after financial crises can be nasty beasts. Maybe if they had taken the situation more seriously, they would have focused more on growth and jobs (and deep, permanent tax cuts) instead of healthcare and cap-and-trade.
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Enviro groups to point out NY Indian Pt nuke risks
* NRC to take years to decide on new reactor licensesNEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Two environmental groups said
they will reveal new information about the safety of the giant
2,065-megawatt Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York and
discuss some options to replace the plant if it is shut.The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and
Riverkeeper said they will be “revealing new information about
the risks associated with an emergency at Indian Point,” which
is located about 45 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.One New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants the reactors to
shut when their licenses expire in 2013 and 2015 due in part to
his concerns for safety in having two reactors in the New York
metropolitan area, which is home to about 19 million people.Entergy , the second biggest nuclear power operator
in the United States and Indian Point’s owner, want to run the
plant running for another 20 years after the original 40-year
operating licenses expire.Officials at Entergy were not immediately available for
comment.The staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
has already determined the two reactors at the nuclear plant
are safe to run for another 20 years.But it will likely take years before the NRC commissioners
decide whether to renew the reactors’ licenses. Fist, the
agency’s judicial board, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board
(ASLB), must hear numerous contentions opposed to the
relicensing and expected appeals before the commissioners get
to make the final decision.New York depends on Indian Point for about 25 percent of
the power used in New York City and Westchester County, where
the plant is located. It can produce enough power to supply
about two million homes.The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which
operates the state’s power grid, has already said the shutdown
of Indian Point would leave the city vulnerable to blackouts
and other reliability problems.New York’s power company, Consolidated Edison , has
warned the shutdown of Indian Point would boost the already
high cost of power in the Big Apple.Power prices in New York are already among the highest in
the nation. The average retail price of power in New York is
about 15.5 cents per kilowatt hour versus 9.8 cents for the
national average.
Ukraine’s EU neighbors to block ties over Tymoshenko
“We agreed that we support a pro-Western orientation of Ukraine,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas, who hosted the meeting, told journalists after he met his Polish and Hungarian counterparts at a meeting in Prague.”On the other hand, we are saying openly that we cannot imagine we would smoothly ratify the association agreement with Ukraine in a situation when the judicial system in Ukraine does not work and when former Prime Minister Tymoshenko is imprisoned.”Earlier this week, Ukraine jailed Tymoshenko for seven years for abuse of office in a trial that the United States and European Union say was politically motivated.The state security service opened a new criminal case against her Thursday, alleging her involvement in a “criminal conspiracy” 15 years ago to embezzle state funds through gas purchases from Russia.The European Union has warned Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich that bilateral relations will suffer because of the trial and completion of an association agreement, including the creation of a free trade zone, is in doubt unless she is released.
Munich Re adds more natural catastrophe protection to cat bond
S&P said the world’s biggest reinsurer is seeking $75
million of protection to add to its existing coverage from North
Atlantic hurricane risk in selected states within the U.S.
between April 2012 and March 2015 and major European windstorms
between November 2011 and March 2015.Insurers have used catastrophe bonds since the 1990s to
manage their exposure to natural disasters by transferring
potential losses to investment funds. Investors receive a high
rate of interest but risk losing part or all of their principal
if a catastrophe occurs.The proceeds from the sale of the notes will be invested in
preselected U.S. Treasury money market funds with ratings of
‘AAA’ at the time of closing, S&P said.AIR Worldwide Corp. (AIR) will provide the risk analysis for
the transaction and will act as the event calculation agent.
Following a qualifying event, AIR will calculate an index value.The index value for the European windstorm peril will be
based on industry losses reported by European data aggregator
PERILS AG and predetermined payout factors by country, the S&P
said.This is the third take-down from the Queen Street Capital
catastrophe bond in 2011. Munich Re sold a further $100 million
in March to cover against North Atlantic and European windstorm
risk, and another $150 million in July for more European
windstorm coverage.The launch of the cat bond notes from Munich Re follow a
stall in issuance in the summer months following the release of
new loss estimates from catastrophe risk assessor firm RMS.Europe’s second-biggest insurer Axa launched a 100
million euro cat bond called Calypso Capital at the beginning of
the month to cover it against potential losses from European
windstorms.Both bonds are due to close by the end of the month, S&P
said.
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Community for more news and analysis, click here)
Eight dead in California hair salon shooting
The suspect, who was not immediately identified, fled the scene in a vehicle and was arrested moments later about a half mile away, Seal Beach police Sergeant Steve Bowles told reporters nearly two hours after the shooting.”We feel very confident at this point that we do have the single and only suspect in custody,” Bowles said. “He appeared cooperative and did not resist our officers at all when he was detained.”The daylight shooting marked the first murders in several years and perhaps the deadliest outbreak of gun violence ever in Seal Beach, a quiet Orange County town about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles, he said.”For the city of Seal Beach, this could be one of our greatest tragedies,” Bowles said.Circumstances of the shooting remained murky, and Bowles said detectives were trying to establish a motive for the violence and any link between the gunman and the establishment, called the Salon Meritage.Former salon employee Lidia Sosa, who went to the crime scene when she heard the news, told reporters the gunman shot and killed his ex-wife, with whom he was embroiled in a custody dispute. The owner of the shopping center, Henry Morales, said he was told by salon employees that the gunman was the former husband of a hair stylist there.A long-time customer who identified herself only as Karen said she heard about the shooting and called her stylist, who answered the phone in a state of panic.”He was screaming, and the phone went dead. He was hysterical,” she said.SOME INSIDE SALON ESCAPED UNHARMEDOf the nine people struck by gunfire, six were declared dead at the scene and three others were taken to Long Beach Memorial Hospital with critical injuries, Bowles said. Two of those hospitalized later died of their wounds, he said.Bowles said he did not know how many of the victims were employees or how many were patrons, but the Los Angeles Times reported that the owner of the Meritage was among the dead, citing the man’s niece.Most of the victims were believed to have been shot inside the salon. One man initially listed as wounded was found in the parking lot, but it was not clear where he was shot, he said.”There are survivors from inside the salon that escaped without harm,” Bowles said.The salon, which was filled with customers at the time of the shooting, is located in a large open-air shopping center on Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach. The area around the salon was cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape, and several nearby streets were blocked off by police.Cindy Spinosa, who works at the Seal Beach Chiropractic Center across the street from the salon, said she and others were left shaken by the outburst of violence.”It’s such a quiet little community. We don’t experience things like this,” she said.Overhead television footage broadcast on KCAL9-TV showed a white pickup truck left parked by a roadside with three of its doors open about a half mile from the shooting scene. The station reported that a number of weapons were recovered from the vehicle by police.Bowles said the type of weapon or weapons used by the gunman was not immediately known.
Eight dead in California hair salon shooting
The suspect, who was not immediately identified, fled the scene in a vehicle and was arrested moments later about a half mile away, Seal Beach police Sergeant Steve Bowles told reporters nearly two hours after the shooting.”We feel very confident at this point that we do have the single and only suspect in custody,” Bowles said. “He appeared cooperative and did not resist our officers at all when he was detained.”The daylight shooting marked the first murders in several years and perhaps the deadliest outbreak of gun violence ever in Seal Beach, a quiet Orange County town about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles, he said.”For the city of Seal Beach, this could be one of our greatest tragedies,” Bowles said.Circumstances of the shooting remained murky, and Bowles said detectives were trying to establish a motive for the violence and any link between the gunman and the establishment, called the Salon Meritage.Former salon employee Lidia Sosa, who went to the crime scene when she heard the news, told reporters the gunman shot and killed his ex-wife, with whom he was embroiled in a custody dispute. The owner of the shopping center, Henry Morales, said he was told by salon employees that the gunman was the former husband of a hair stylist there.A long-time customer who identified herself only as Karen said she heard about the shooting and called her stylist, who answered the phone in a state of panic.”He was screaming, and the phone went dead. He was hysterical,” she said.SOME INSIDE SALON ESCAPED UNHARMEDOf the nine people struck by gunfire, six were declared dead at the scene and three others were taken to Long Beach Memorial Hospital with critical injuries, Bowles said. Two of those hospitalized later died of their wounds, he said.Bowles said he did not know how many of the victims were employees or how many were patrons, but the Los Angeles Times reported that the owner of the Meritage was among the dead, citing the man’s niece.Most of the victims were believed to have been shot inside the salon. One man initially listed as wounded was found in the parking lot, but it was not clear where he was shot, he said.”There are survivors from inside the salon that escaped without harm,” Bowles said.The salon, which was filled with customers at the time of the shooting, is located in a large open-air shopping center on Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach. The area around the salon was cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape, and several nearby streets were blocked off by police.Cindy Spinosa, who works at the Seal Beach Chiropractic Center across the street from the salon, said she and others were left shaken by the outburst of violence.”It’s such a quiet little community. We don’t experience things like this,” she said.Overhead television footage broadcast on KCAL9-TV showed a white pickup truck left parked by a roadside with three of its doors open about a half mile from the shooting scene. The station reported that a number of weapons were recovered from the vehicle by police.Bowles said the type of weapon or weapons used by the gunman was not immediately known.
