NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT MARCH 15
SEE THE VIDEO HERE.
TODAY GREECE GOT A BIG NOD FOR ITS LATEST BAILOUT.
THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND APPROVED ITS PART OF A 130 BILLION
EURO LOAN, THE BULK OF WHICH IS COMING FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION.
SO IS GRRECE OUT OF THE WOODS AND CAN WE REST EASY THAT THE CRISIS
WON’T RETURN TO GIVE THE MARKETS THE JITTERS AGAIN?
WELL IN A WORD – NO
EVEN THE IMF SAYS SO.
“THERE IS NO WIGGLE ROOM ON THE GREEK ECONOMIC PORGRAM,” IMF STAFF WARN.
WHAT THAT MEANS IN ENGLISH IS THAT GREECE IS STILL BROKE AND ITS
GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO HAVE TO REALLY KNUCKLE DOWN WITH IMPLEMENTING
ITS SPENDING CUTS
ADD TO THAT SOCIAL PROBLEMS WE KEEP SEEING ACROSS THE ADRIATIC COUNTRY
AND ITS NOT DIFFICULT TO ENVISION THE CRISIS RETURNING IN SHORT ORDER
AND WITH IT A POSSIBLE SCARY RIDE FOR THE US STOCK MARKET. That’s WHAT
MOST OBSERVERS ARE SAYING, BUT I’D GO FURTHER AND SAY THERE IS STILL A
BIG CHANCE GREECE LEAVES THE EURO, THE SINGLE EUROPEAN CURRENCY.
AND BELIEVE ME WHEN THAT HAPPENS INVESTORS WILL HAVE FEW PLACES TO HIDE
I’M SIMON CONSTABLE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Tight supply, and continued demand for growing car and truck markets, should keep expanding the metal's price.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Here's something to put a shine in your portfolio: Palladium, the often-overshadowed cousin of the precious metal platinum, is poised to gleam brilliantly.
Thanks to both rising demand and sketchy supply, some analysts are looking for a 20% jump in futures prices this year, with continued growth through 2014. Link to Barrons.com.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
First, the bad news: For most workers, fat salary hikes won't happen this year. The economy's still too weak.
Now, the good news: You can get other financial goodies from your employer, if you know how.
Most people are unaware that corporations are riddled with seams of gold. Here's a guide to finding the buried treasure. The specifics will be different for each company, but this should get you close enough to mine some dollars.
1 Your 401(k) plan.
To the extent you can afford to do so, put enough money in your 401(k) retirement plan to collect the entire company match.
A lot of data suggest people don't do that, says Mark Schmit, vice president of research at the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va. "If you don't take advantage of it, you are leaving money on the table."
It can be like getting an extra 3% or 4% raise, on top of any annual salary increase. For more read here.
