“Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has signed a state budget that cuts spending and has warned that further cuts are likely.
The new budget includes $1.4 billion in cuts to schools, hospitals and prisons as the state grapples with a roughly $13 billion deficit  the biggest deficit in its history.
But Quinn postponed a decision that could lead to far more painful cuts. The Chicago Democrat didn’t say how he’ll make $3.7 billion in payments to government pension systems. He hopes that legislators will reverse themselves and vote to borrow the pension money.
Lawmakers gave Quinn authority to paper over the deficit by taking money out of special funds, borrowing against future revenue and simply letting bills go unpaid until the next fiscal year.”
………………………..1A) Another round of pension bonds for Illinois possible
“Illinois hopes to issue pension obligation bonds to raise the $3.7 billion required contributions to the five state retirement systems for the fiscal year that began Thursday, Gov. Pat Quinn said in a teleconference.
The pension borrowing plan, which was approved by the Illinois House, is pending in the state Senate, he said.
The bond issue “will accelerate revenue into the state to pay the pensions,†Mr. Quinn said.
Last January, Illinois sold $3.466 billion in pension obligation bonds, priced at an interest rate of 3.854%, to finance its contributions to the five systems for fiscal year 2010. Illinois still has outstanding almost all of the $10 billion in taxable pension obligation bonds it issued in 2003.
Kelly Kraft, spokeswoman for the Illinois Office of Management and Budget, said the state has no proposed date for selling the pension bonds, which could be priced at an interest rate of 4% to 4.5%.”
“July 2 (Bloomberg) — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs New York City’s subways, buses and commuter trains, shrank a $555 million taxable debt offering by 16 percent as it struggled with a deficit and as investors sought to avoid risk.”
“The MTA, grappling with an $800 million deficit, paid 2.75 percentage points more than yields on 30-year Treasuries, according to Bloomberg data. Four months earlier, the so-called spread on the MTA’s 29-year Build Americas was 2.1 percentage points”
- 3) Miami-Dade, Broward brace for steep declines in taxable property values (“county faces a budget hole in excess of $400 million”)
“The final numbers are in for South Florida’s property values, and they promise the toughest budget-writing season for cities and counties in years.
Miami-Dade County property appraiser Pedro Garcia announced that property values fell 13.4 percent compared to last year. The news was sobering in Broward County, too, where appraiser Lori Parrish said taxable values were down 11.7 percent.
It is the third straight year taxable values have declined across South Florida, with this year being the worst so far. Indeed, the decreases are the worst anyone can recall.
The steep drops are putting leaders in the position of either slashing spending to correspond with lower tax revenues or increasing property tax rates, also called the millage rate. Neither is easy, particularly as a restive electorate grapples with a wobbly economy still encumbered by double-digit unemployment.”
Latest Observations:
| Date | 2010-02 | 2010-03 | 2010-04 | 2010-05 | 2010-06 |
| Value | 19.4 | 20.0 | 21.6 | 23.2 | 25.5 |
-
Last Updated: 2010-07-02 8:16 AM CDT 5) Series: UEMP27OV, Civilians Unemployed for 27 Weeks and Over
Latest Observations:
| Date | 2010-02 | 2010-03 | 2010-04 | 2010-05 | 2010-06 |
| Value | 6133 | 6547 | 6716 | 6763 | 6751 |
| Last Updated: | 2010-07-02 8:16 AM CDT |
Latest Observations:
Latest Observations:
| Date | 2010-02 | 2010-03 | 2010-04 | 2010-05 | 2010-06 |
| Value | 4501 | 4496 | 4506 | 4508 | 4504 |
| Last Updated: | 2010-07-02 8:16 AM CDT |
- 7) Job Market “Anemic”, Unemployment Rate Falls For “All the Wrong Reasons” (Tech Ticker video)
“Yet the unemployment rate fell to 9.5% in June from 9.7%, the lowest level in nearly a year. Unfortunately, it dropped “for all the wrong reasons†says Nigel Gault, U.S. chief economist at IHS Global Insight. The unemployment rate is lower simply because the labor market shrank, as more than 650,000 people gave up on the job search last month.
More telling is the “real unemployment” rate, or U6. Including people working part-time and those who’ve given up looking, the real unemployment rate is 16.5%.
Gault says the lousy job market reflects an economy still weak and companies making due with less. At the current pace, the road to recovery will be long and bumpy.”
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories declined broadly in May after nine straight months of gains.
The Commerce Department says orders for manufactured goods decreased by 1.4 percent in May. It was the biggest drop since March 2009.
Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders fell by 0.6 percent. In April, orders grew by 1.0 percent.
The numbers cast a cloud over the manufacturing sector. Factories have been a rare bright spot, helping lead the country out of recession with increased hiring and productivity.
However, economists fear high unemployment and less demand for exports could cause them to slow in the coming months.”
- Other news and headlines:
Richard Suttmeier: Home Prices Could Fall Another 50% (Tech Ticker video)
Mexico’s declining oil output worries planners
China End-March Outstanding Foreign Debt About 10% Of GDP
China Growth Forecast Cut by Goldman Sachs Amid Property Curbs
India foreign debt hits $261.4 billion
House Passes $80 Billion War Spending Bill (“with a provision that would include $10 billion to help school districts”)
Moody’s Says U.K. Will Keep Its AAA Credit Rating If Fiscal Plan Succeeds
State workers to receive minimum wage only in California
Romania to cut 53000 government jobs
Bankruptcy Filings Hit Record Levels (Florida)
Concerns rising that economic recovery is slowing
I LOSE it when I see a Caravan of Ticket Police Accompaning the Street Sweepers Today! ( InflationUS video)
- Saxplayer00o1
