Diamond News Archives
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Asking that corporations not take on too much debt, when that debt costs them almost nothing in interest, is unrealistic. Asking that the Fed not leave interest rates at emergency-condition levels for 10 years is not.
In the myopic mad dash that is quarterly earnings-obsessed Wall Street, you have about 90 days to prove yourself, over and over again. If you can access borrowed money at near-zero up front cost and get a return on investment above that near-zero, you’re going to pad your bottom line over the short term.
And, exactly like an elected government official, that’s all CEOs care about. Positive quarterly results mean keeping their jobs and getting fat bonuses. When investors are obsessing about beating estimates for the past three months, worrying about incrementally higher interest payments next year might make academic sense but is about the least pressing concern for public company executives.
The Greenspan Fed pushed rates abnormally low in the late 1990s even though the then-booming economy needed no stimulus. That was in part to provide liquidity to a Y2K-wary public and partly in response to the 1998 market turmoil, but they were slow to withdraw the extra cash.
Bernanke was again generous to borrowers in the 2000s, contributing to the housing crisis and Great Recession. We’re now 20 years into training people (and businesses) that running up debt is fun and easy… and they’ve responded.
But over time, debt stops stimulating growth. Over this series, we will see that it takes more debt accumulation for every point of GDP growth, both in the US and elsewhere. Hence, the flat-to-mild “recovery” years. I’ve cited academic literature via my friend Lacy Hunt that debt eventually becomes a drag on growth.
Debt-fueled growth is fun at...
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During this 35+ minute interview, Jason asks Danielle about what type of Fed Chairman she thinks Jerome "Jay" Powell will be, why the Fed didn't hike rates again last week, why they might hike again in June, and why the Fed should be worried about inflation.
Jason also asks Danielle about China's economy and their credit bubble, the looming commercial real estate crisis in the US and about FED Coin and gold....
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Trade friction is emerging as the latest threat to the U.S. dollar’s position at the heart of the global financial system.
For decades, central banks have held the bulk of their foreign-exchange reserves in the dollar, reflecting the dominant role the U.S. and its currency have played in global trade. As the U.S. pulls back from partnerships while countries like Mexico and Japan strike their own trade deals, the dollar’s dominance could be undermined, investors and analysts said. That dominance has been referred to as an... ...
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(IDEX Online) – Sarine Technologies said that in Q1 2018, it recorded higher revenues of $16.7 million. <?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
Although year-on-year improvement was marginal, it was "still noteworthy as recurring revenues continued to climb even as the quantities of rough stones entering the pipeline declined by 10%, compared to the corresponding period in 2017.
"The significant growth in revenue on a sequential quarterly basis, driven by higher equipment sales and increased recurring income, reflects renewed robust activities in India’s midstream diamond manufacturing sector. During the quarter, the Group delivered 12 Galaxy family systems to customers, comprising 5 of the new Meteorite model, 5 of the Meteor model, one Galaxy and one Galaxy XL. Notably, all but the Galaxy XL were delivered to customers in India, indicative of the group's growing containment of the illicit competition's activities.
With the installed base of Galaxy family systems expanded to 357 units as of 31 March 2018, overall recurrent income represented about 45% of group revenue. Polished diamond retail-related revenue segment accounted for 2% of revenue in Q1 2018.
"Following the completion of major developmental efforts for Sarine Clarity, Sarine Color and Sarine Journey, the group saw lower research and development costs in Q1 2018. However, general and administrative expenses were higher due to third-party professional fees related to ongoing IP protection activities. Income tax expense was significantly lower and at a normalized level in Q1 2018 as the tax expense in Q1 2017 included write-downs of certain deferred and other tax assets. With higher revenue and well-managed operating expenses, net profit for the period rose 27% to...
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Two Czech parties that have proposed working together in a ruling coalition pledged to keep the country out of the euro area, boost investment in roads and retirement homes and cut taxes on some services, including sales of draught beer.
After maneuvering for six months following inconclusive elections, caretaker Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s ANO party and the Social Democrats published a draft declaration outlining their potential minority government’s priorities through 2021. The Social Democrats have yet to hold a party-wide referendum on the tie-up and, if the party affirms, the coalition will seek a parliamentary vote of confidence.
Photographer: Martin Divisek/Bloomberg
In the document, published by the CTK news service late on Thursday, the two former coalition partners pledged not to pursue euro membership because they want to keep the country’s independent monetary policy and avoid the costs and economic risks associated with the single currency. The nation, which overwhelmingly relies on the euro area for exports and foreign investment, pledged to give up the koruna when it joined the European Union in 2004, but the accession treaty stipulates no deadline for the switch.
“The government currently doesn’t see the possibility of adopting the common European currency,” ANO and CSSD said in the statement. “However, we will actively participate, to the maximum possible degree, in the current discussions on the EU’s deepening economic and monetary union, with an emphasis on consistent observance and enforcement of budgetary responsibility on the level of individual euro-area member states.”
Anti-Refugee Pledge
The document starts with a pledge to fight the EU’s mandatory refugee-relocation program -- a topic that spawned anti-Muslim rhetoric in pre-election campaigning. The other priorities include spending more money on highways and other infrastructure, raising pensions and teachers’ salaries,...