Malaysia Airlines slashes 6,000 jobs in major restructuring

Malaysia Airlines has cut 6,000 jobs as part of a wide-ranging overhaul that follows the loss of two aircraft earlier this year.

State investor Khazanah, which owns nearly 70% of the carrier, revealed the 30% workforce reduction on Friday. Khazanah also announced the creation of a new corporation that will absorb the majority of the carrier's assets.

Will America really Default on it's Debt?

President Obama has locked top Republicans and Democrats in a room to try and hammer out a deal to cut the U.S. deficit and raise the U.S. Treasury’s borrowing authority by Aug. 2. If the government is unable to borrow more money it may not be able to pay interest on its debt — and a string of bills from doctor’s bills to army wages.

Q: How real is the Aug. 2 deadline?

A: U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner set the current deadline for the United States to either raise its US$14.3-million debt ceiling or default on its obligations in May, after making and extending a handful of others earlier in the year.

Unlike previous deadlines, “This August/early August deadline is fairly firm,” says Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

Yet, with Treasury officials reportedly meeting in secret this week to come up with possible contingency plans, Mr. Porcelli said an extension of sorts may be in the cards.
“I think you cannot rule other the possibility that the folks in D.C. invent another accounting gimmick to buy more time,” he said, pointing to a past move to tap into government funds to stave off default.

“It was definitely a novel approach at the time. I don’t think such novelty can be ruled out right now.”

Q: What if they miss the deadline by a few days?

A: If talks drag on but are still close and lawmakers look set to raise the debt ceiling within a few days, a temporary reprieve may be possible. Markets would likely drop but ratings agencies like Moody’s Investors Service might hold off on a downgrade for a few days.

But the grace period would not be long. Mr. Geithner started warning Congress about this in January, and a failure to find a solution would raise serious red flags with China and other major creditors.

Q: What are the major sticking points in the negotiations?

A: In earlier sessions, negotiators identified roughly US$2-trillion in spending cuts that could form the basis of a deal. Republicans walked out of those talks after Democrats called for an additional US$400-billion in budget savings by ending a range of tax breaks that benefit wealthy people and certain businesses, like the oil and gas industry. On Wednesday, the two Republicans who were involved in those talks indicated that they could accept some “revenue raisers” in a deal. And indicating that even more ambitious plans may be afoot, Democrats said Mr. Obama will push negotiators to double their target to US$4-trillion in budget savings over 10 years.

Q: What will the government cut if the deadline passes?

A: Analysts say the U.S. Treasury will have no choice but to pay interest on the debt first and then make decisions about what to pay next.

Averaged out through August, 44% of bills and obligations could not be paid, making it impossible to avoid deep cuts to popular programs, according to the Bipartisan Policy Centre, a Washington think-tank.

“Remember where the bulk of spending rests. It would almost necessarily have to come from reductions in either Social Security, Medicare, national defence — basically in the so-called income-security categories,” Mr. Porcelli said, noting that bills would start to go unpaid “in short order,” after the default.

“There’s obviously a lot of sensitivity to those items on both sides of the aisle,” he said, predicting many lost votes if politicians allow it to get to that point.

Q: Would it really be all that bad?

Consumers borrowed more for 8th month in May

Americans took on more debt in May and used their credit cards more for only the second time in nearly three years. Consumers stepped up their borrowing just as the economy began to slump and hiring slowed.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumer borrowing rose $5.1 billion in May, the eighth straight monthly increase. It followed a revised gain of $5.7 billion in April. Borrowing in the category that covers credit cards increased, as did borrowing in the category for auto and student loans.

The overall increase pushed consumer borrowing to a seasonally adjusted annual level of $2.43 trillion in May. That was just 1.7 percent higher than the nearly four-year low of $2.39 trillion hit in September.

Borrowing is a sign of confidence in the economy. Consumers tend to take on more debt when they feel wealthier. That boosts consumer spending. Ultimately, it gives businesses more faith to expand and hire. But an increase in credit card debt can also be a sign of people falling on harder times.

The economy added just 18,000 jobs in June, the fewest in nine months, the Labor Department said Friday. It was the second straight month of feeble job growth. The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent, the highest rate of the year.

Economists have said that temporary factors, in part, have forced some employers to scale back hiring plans. High gas prices have cut into consumer spending, which fuels 70 percent of economic activity. And supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Japan crisis have slowed U.S. manufacturing production.

The increase in credit card borrowing marked only the second monthly gain since August 2008. Households began borrowing less and saving more when unemployment spiked during the Great Recession. Many have resisted pulling out their credit cards in the two years since the downturn ended. Even with the May increase in credit card debt, this category is down 4.4 percent over the past year and 18.5 percent from its peak in August 2008.

High unemployment, slow wage growth, and a weakening housing market have forced people to be more frugal. Analysts believe the rise in student loans reflects the slumping economy: more people who have lost jobs have returned to school to get training for new careers.

Greenspan says it : "Ponzi Scheme" - 2005?

By: Silver Shield (*great reportage) -

"I remember watching Alan Greenspan testify to the Senate Banking Committee in 2005 and my mouth hit the floor when I heard it. I have been looking of this clip for years, and could never find it. A friend finally sent it to me and I posted it to my YouTube channel and below in this article. I was just starting my Awakening process in 2005 and this was one of those thunderbolts that really sped up my awareness.

Senator Reed asked the sitting Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan if he still believed that we should maintain the fundamental principles of Social Security?

“I believe that we should maintain the principles of Social Security, but I think the existing structure is not working. Until we construct a system that creates the savings that are required to build the REAL assets, so that the retirees have REAL goods and services. We don’t have a system that is working. We have one that basically moves cash around and we can guarantee cash benefits as far out and whatever size you like, but we cannot guarantee their purchasing power. Do we have the material goods and services that people will need to consume, not whether or not we pass some hurdle with respect to how legal financing occurs. Financing is a secondary issue and it is a means to create the REAL wealth, not an end into itself.” -Alan Greenspan 2005"

> Haven't you wondered about some of the crazy swings in the Market? What's with the action in Silver and Gold?

All is becoming clearer to me, and men I read and respect.

The jig is up - "The Band has stopped" and now it's "find a chair" time.

Greece, Portugal, Spain, the Club Med Countries, Ireland, Lavia and many other jurisdictions are eating American inflation Breakfast, Lunch and tea time.