China’s financial slow boat speeding up

HONG KONG — China’s property-related shares fell by the most in nearly five years on Monday on plans to tighten curbs on the housing market, though some economists predict a near-term spike in existing home prices, at least until local governments work out how to implement the changes. The plans, announced by the cabinet late on Friday, include the stricter implementation of an existing 20 % capital gains tax on home sales, strengthening restrictions on home buying and increasing loan rates for those buying a second home in cities where prices are rising too quickly.

CLINTON HILL — The city's Department of Transportation is warning drivers on Park Avenue in Clinton Hill to take the pedal off the metal. An electronic sign was recently placed on the busy thoroughfare telling motorists to "slow down."

OMT: Outright Monetary Transactions. It's the ECB's plan to backstop troubled countries in the euro zone in need of financial assistance and prevent their borrowing costs (i.e., government bond yields) from reaching levels deemed unsustainably high.

For almost the last year, greedy, destabilizing, market-manipulating speculators in the futures markets have been driving up down the price of natural gas to historic

TORONTO — Amid an extremely difficult period for the global mining industry, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference remains a source of cautious optimism for shell-shocked companies and investors. The industry’s largest event, expected to draw more than 30,000 people, kicked off Sunday in Toronto. And while none of the speakers pretended that these are pleasant times for mining companies, they tried to remind everyone that some positive fundamentals are still in place.

Once nannycrats grab on to an idea, they never relinquish it. Eurobonds are the perfect example.  Many other idea float around despite numerous objections in key places. Some of these ideas involve creation of more commissions and more working groups. Here is a sampling of commissions and groups that I am aware of.