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Neither a borrower, not a lender be

Greece will do what its insane lenders want, which is more austerity.

Greece elected its present prime minister (and his government) to the end the austerity disaster of the last few years, and bring them growth and prosperity.

If Greece ends up with more austerity, they’ll chuck the present government. Which is maybe what the EU wanted all along.

This is not economics. This is venomous politics, bringing Greece under the German jackboot.

Greece will be forced to raise taxes.. On what? Business in Greece has ground to a standstill.

Here’s yesterday’s chart. Remember too, 60% of Greek youth are unemployed.

GreekGDP

Why Puerto Rico went bust.

From Hamlet, Act 1:

Polonius:
Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Old saying (from my father’s knee):

If you default on a loan of $100 to the bank, you’re in trouble.

If you default of $100 million to the bank, the bank is in trouble.

 It was too easy for Puerto Rico to plug its budget holes with borrowing, and more borrowing.

Brokers stuffed P.R. bonds into portfolios (and mutual funds) because they were tax-free, and hence the yield was juiced up. They did it with assessing Puerto Rico’s worsening economy. This chart says it all:

PRBonds

Read the whole sorry story in today’s New York Times. It’s an eye-opener. Click here.

Health tips: 

+ From reader Alle Gee: 

Never go to the Doctor on a Monday . I went for my checkup and blood test and days later ended up with a miserable cold from the waiting room which was filled with all the people that waited the weekend to get better and did not!

+ New York Times medical writer, Jane Brody:

The best sunscreens have zinc oxide or titanium oxide. You’re wasting your money buying price sunscreens with SPF above 30. Nothing really fully protects. The best screen for the sun? A roof.

SPF30

Read the piece here.

Shoes as contemporary art. Think sneakers in limited quantities, often tagged with a celebrity’s name. Bingo, rare, valuable “art.”

These are called Yeezy Boost 350. My young college friend bought them for $200 on after he won a raffle that entitled him to buy them at a paris store called size?.  He’ll sell them on eBay or wherever for $1,000.

YeezyBoost350

These are called “Louis Vuitton Kanye West Jasper”

KanyeWest

The “Buy it Now” price on eBay is $12,000. Buy it here. They cost the seller around $1,000 at Louis Vuitton’s web site when they were released.

To get these “deals,” you have to be super-lucky. You win a lottery with the right to buy the scarce sneakers. Or you manage to get though to Nike or Adidas’s web site within seconds of the shoes being posted.

These are called “NIKE FLYKNIT RACER 2.0 MULTICOLOR.

NikeSneaker

What’s special about these sneakers is the color. they’re hot. They’re also no longer available. If your feet are size 12.5 you should buy them. Only $599. The original Nike price was $150. Click here.

My young friend, Hugo Lieber, says the black and white sneakers in the first picture are “insanely comfortable.”

I don’t make this stuff up.

The Internet is now awash with images. God bless Photoshop.

removeconfederateflag

A visit to grandmas. Wonderful photo. Good reason to own Apple.

Grandma

How grandchildren see their grandmother.

+ My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday.  He asked me how old I was, and I told him, “80”.  My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, “Did you start at 1?”
+   A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like.  “We used to skate outside on a pond.  I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard.  We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods.”  The little girl was wide-eyed, taking all this in.  At last she said, “I sure wish I’d gotten to know you sooner!”

+ My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, “Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?”  I mentally polished my halo and replied, “No, how are we alike?”  “You’re both old,” he replied.

+ A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather’s word processor.  She told him she was writing a story.  “What’s it about?”, he asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied.  “I can’t read.”

HarryNewton
Harry Newton who eyeing nice weather in New York this morning after a dramatic middle-of-the night summer storm. good tennis weather. We got back a little yesterday. Maybe we’ll recoup a little more of Monday’s losses today?

 

One Comment

  1. pahowley says:

    Couple items: please get that gal out the inappropriate Confederate flag and send me a picture of her scans swim suit as proof it was done.Next, so what kind of program is correct for Greece to follow? Part of their problem is culture: work less, get paid more. Beautiful wife and I leave tonight for two weeks in Greece and Turkey. Should be “most interesting”, and I’m not thinking of ancient sites, though we will visit those.