• 1) Harvard Profs: This Crisis Is Not Over

The global economic crisis is not over, said Harvard University professors Kenneth Rogoff and Niall Ferguson, challenging the G20 group of wealthy countries’ assumptions that the world is on the road to recovery. Public spending in the form of bailouts and stimulus packages will create a debt burden for the world’s governments, the two professors told Bloomberg. “The financial crisis may eventually morph into a government-debt crisis,” says Rogoff, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.

• 2) California Boost Yield 1 Point on $1.9 Billion Municipal Sale

“California, tapping the municipal bond market for the fifth time in six weeks, agreed to increase the yield on $1.9 billion in bonds a full percentage point above what it estimated last week for a smaller issue.”

• 3) Electronic Arts posts 2Q loss, plans layoffs (1,500 employees)

“The company behind games such as “Madden NFL 10″ also said Monday it is laying off 1,500 employees, or about 17 percent, to focus on games that have higher profit margins.”

• 4) Adobe announces 680 layoffs

“Adobe systems announced Tuesday it would be making 680 employees redundant, in a move which slashes about nine per cent of the firm’s global workforce.”

• 5) State unemployment deficit forecast skyrockets to nearly $3 billion (Wisconsin)

“With jobless claims remaining high in the state, Wisconsin’s unemployment fund faces a projected deficit of nearly $2.8 billion by the end of 2011 — more than twice the amount forecast earlier this year.”

• 6) Employers in Texas can expect tax hit for jobless fund

“AUSTIN — Texas employers next year will pay more than twice the $1.09 billion in jobless insurance taxes they are paying this year and the tab will go up after that, according to estimates released by the Texas Workforce Commission Tuesday.

Under state law, the state’s unemployment trust fund is supposed to stand at 1 percent of taxable wages, or about $860 million. The fund has been depleted in the wake of high jobless claims.”

• 7) In Need of Cash, State Requiring Drivers to Buy New $25 Plates (New York)

“ALBANY — New York drivers will start paying for new license plates next year — whether they want to or not.

Beginning in April, car and tractor-trailer owners alike will have to shell out $25 for spruced-up license plates, by dictate of state leaders coming up with new ways to wring out revenue as an unprecedented budget shortfall looms.”

• Santa Ana schools could face $33 million in new cuts

“SANTA ANA Santa Ana Unified School District’s projected $31 million shortfall for the 2010-11 school year could balloon by $33 million if the state budget crisis continues to escalate, district officials said.

The dire prediction came during a budget presentation at the school board meeting late Tuesday.”

• 9) HSBC facilitates trade settlement using Chinese’s Renminbi currency

HSBC facilitates trade settlement using Chinese’s Renminbi currency

“JAKARTA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) — The Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) launched trade transaction service with Chinese currency Renminbi here, makes Indonesia the sixth country in ASEAN countries enjoying the service, a senior HSBC official said here on Wednesday.

China will continuously play an important role as the main trade partner for Indonesian businessmen. “The Chinese government’s policy to allow Renminbi as trade payment currency would improvethe trade between the two countries,” Head of Trade and Supply Chain HSBC Indonesia Vincent C. Sugianto said.

Citing the results of its Trade Confidence Index survey for the fourth quarter this year, he said the Indonesian businessmen wish to improve their businesses with their Chinese counterparts.

The commencement of HSBC’s trade payment with Chinese Renminbi currency service in Indonesia was marked with a transaction conducted by one of HSBC Indonesia’s customers PT Duta Permata Murni with its business counterpart in Shanghai, China recently.

The other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries served with HSBC’s Renminbi Trade Settlement service are Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam.

According to Vincent, the Renminbi trade settlement service can only be conducted with Chinese firms authorized to make transactions with their counterparts in ASEAN countries. Those appointed Chinese firms were listed in Chinese government’s Mainland Designated Enterprises (MDE) scheme.

According to Vincent, direct transaction using Renminbi with Chinese firms would reduce transaction cost as it would avert the exchange currency risk.”

… 9A) More info

“The service is part of China’s cautious effort to create a bigger global role for the yuan as the weakened U.S. dollar continues to be questioned as a world reserve currency. China holds the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves of more than $2.1 trillion and is also the largest holder of U.S. debt.”

• 10) Thailand and the China/dollar peg

“Washington’s claims to back a strong dollar are falling on increasingly skeptical ears as many Asian central banks regularly sell their currencies for dollars to prop up the U.S. currency.

Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said his country’s central bank has bought some $15 billion so far this year and that the persisting weakness of the Chinese yuan will likely require further intervention by Asian central banks.

“We’re building up effectively greater level of U.S. dollar reserves,” Korn told Dow Jones in an interview. “I’m convinced that in the long term the dollar is more likely than not to decline in value, so we’re building up assets that are declining in value over time. That’s not healthy.”

But Thailand’s Mr. Korn said, “There is not much you could do to correct what is reality. The fact is when you’ve got that much debt … the only effective way of repaying that debt is basically devaluing your currency.”"

• 11) FSC Allows Taiwanese Banks in HK to Make RMB Corporate Loans

“Taipei, Nov. 11, 2009 (CENS)–The Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) in Taiwan recently announced to allow domestic bank branches in Hong Kong to extend renminbi-based corporate loans, in addition to handling RMB-based deposits, currency exchanges and remittances.”

• 12)  Job openings near record lows, and may linger (6.1 unemployed workers per job opening)

“There are about 6.1 unemployed workers, on average, competing for each job opening, a Labor Department report shows. That’s down slightly from 6.2 last month, the most since the department began tracking job openings nine years ago.

It’s a sharp increase from only 1.7 workers per opening when the recession began in December 2007.”

• 13) Applied Materials May Cut 15% of Jobs, Analysts Say (1,500 jobs)

“Analysts at Pacific Crest Securities, RBC Capital and Auriga USA LLC are predicting job cuts of as much as 15 percent when Applied releases fourth-quarter earnings today. That would amount to more than 1,500 jobs. The company is reducing its costs to adjust to a smaller industry, said Daniel Berenbaum, an Auriga analyst in New York. ”

• 14) Gold Price Won’t Drop Below $1,000 an Ounce Again, Faber Says

““We will not see less than the $1,000 level again,” Faber said at a conference today in London. “Central banks are all the same. They are printers. Gold is maybe cheaper today than in 2001, given the interest rates. You have to own physical gold.”

China will keep buying resources including gold, he said.

“Its demand for commodities will go up and up and up,” he added. “Emerging economies will grow at the fastest pace.”

In contrast, Western countries will be lucky to avoid economic contraction, while the Federal Reserve will maintain interest rates near zero percent, he said.”

• 15) Monsanto and “Frankenfood” (Reuters)

Four pages long.

Here’s the link for the “Crisis Mode Declared on Deficit” (New York), until the link in the news is fixed,