“NEW YORK (Reuters) – Around 450,000 people who work for U.S. states, counties, cities, towns and villages could get pink slips in fiscal 2012, sharply up from the 300,000 positions shed this year, a report said on Monday.
The number of job cuts will rise mainly because the federal stimulus program is ending while the cost of Medicaid is “spiraling,” said the report by UBS Investment Research.
States got billions of extra dollars primarily for education and Medicaid from the stimulus plan. Medicaid is the state-federal health plan for the poor and disabled.
Maury Harris, a UBS economist, on a conference call said the deficits states and municipalities will have to close will climb to $155 billion in fiscal 2012 from about $108 billion in the current fiscal year.”
“ATHENS (Reuters) – A Greek debt default would hurt other peripheral euro zone states and could push Portugal and Ireland into junk territory, Moody’s said on Tuesday, warning it would classify most forms of restructuring as a default.
Markets have piled pressure on heavily indebted euro zone countries this week as investors worry not just about Greece but also about Spain, where the government suffered a major defeat in regional elections at the weekend, and after ratings agencies warned about the health of Italy and Belgium.
“A Greek default would be highly destabilizing and would have implications for the creditworthiness of issuers across Europe,” Moody’s Investors Service’s chief credit officer in the region, Alastair Wilson, told Reuters in a telephone interview.”
……………..2A) Greek default could make others junk: Moody’s
- Other news, headlines and opinion:
China agency downgrades UK sovereign credit rating
U.K. Deficit Widens More Than Forecast to $16 Billion as Income Declines
Pound Depreciates Against Euro After Moody’s Puts 14 UK Banks on Review
Japan crisis to delay Toshiba reactor orders
Egypt Yields Signal Higher Cost for $1 Billion Bond Sale as Economy Rocked
South Korea’s Short-term Overseas Debt Rises to $146.7 Billion
State retirement plans facing billion dollar shortfall (Montana)
Spain Moves Forward With Lottery Privatization
EU policy options narrow to avert Greek default
ECB’s Noyer Says Greek Restructuring a ‘Horror’
Main Greek opposition rejects deal with government
Greek Jan-April State Budget Deficit Revised Slightly Wider
Greece to Accelerate Asset Sales as Bonds Drop
Greece to sell telecoms, state bank, top ports immediately
Shades of 2008: A Greek Default Won’t Be ‘Contained’, John Mauldin Says (Daily Ticker Video)
Greek CDS spreads at record; Italy, Spain stable
Belgium’s Debt Outlook Revised to Negative by Fitch on Political Stalemate
Troubled home market creates generation of renters
Record defaults predicted for US CMBS
US Commercial Real Estate Prices Decline to Post-Crash Low, Moody’s Says
Christie eyes lower income limit for Medicaid eligibility (NJ)
Belarus Devalues Ruble 36% Against Dollar, Sets New Limits
Hawaii Finance Director: Moody’s GO Bond Downgrade Will Cost Hawaii Taxpayers More
India Bonds Fall On Fiscal Deficit Concerns, Rupee Up
Miami Beach faces possible $12 million budget gap
Michigan Schools Still Face Deep Cuts Next Fall
Taliban Raid Raises Concern Over Pakistan Nukes
NATO Intensifies Attacks on Qaddafi Loyalists
Gold Denominated in Euro Rises to Record 1,080.959 Euros/Oz
State Treasurer Says ‘No’ to More State Debt (Illinois)
James Turk – Gold to Have a Staggering Up-Move This Summer
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