Most affordable cities in US

America’s most affordable cities – Morgan Brennan, Forbes

#		Asking Price	Salary	Cost of Living	Unemployment
1	Omaha, NB	#9	#43	#5	#1
2	Buffalo, NY	#2	#47	#1	#12
3	Detroit, MI	#1	#15	#2	#48
4	Indianapolis, IN	#7	#31	#4	#24
5	Cincinnati, OH	#4	#25	#6	#32
6	Pittsburgh, PA	#5	#41	#9	#13
7	Minneapolis, MN	#28	#17	#19	#5
8	Cleveland, OH	#6	#34	#3	#27
9	Oklahoma City, OK	#8	#50	#10	#4
10	Houston, TX	#20	#5	#29	#19
11	Raleigh, NC	#29	#11	#24	#14
12	Columbus, OH	#13	#37	#8	#21
13	Kansas City, MO	#12	#30	#13	#25
14	Dallas, TX	#22	#13	#30	#17
15	Tulsa, OK	#11	#44	#12	#16

Behind The NumbersWhat do we mean by a bargain? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as an "advantageous deal." On that score Omaha qualifies, thanks to a list-leading combination of affordable real estate and a healthy ratio of income to living costs.

To compile our bargain city list, we started with the 50 largest U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and then compiled a mix of data aimed at handicapping the overall affordability of living in each.

We looked at the current median asking price of homes on the market in each city, using data from Altos Research, a San Francisco-based real estate research firm. We got the median salaries of workers with bachelor's degrees or higher from PayScale.com and compared it to a cost-of-living index from Moody's Economy.com (the cost-of-living index factors in transportation, insurance, food, utilities and other factors). Finally, we factored in the latest unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to reflect the relative strength of local economies

Biggest holders of US Government Debt

The Biggest Holders of US Government Debt – CNBC

#
1	Federal Reserve & Intragovernmental Holdings	$6.328t
2	China	$1.132t
3	Other Investors / Savings Bonds	$1.107t
4	Japan	$1.038t
5	Pension Funds	$842.2b
6	Mutual Funds	$653.5b
7	State & Local Governments	$484.4b
8	UK	$429.4b
9	Depository Institutions (Banks,etc)	$284.5b
10	Insurance Companies	$250.1b
11	Oil Exporters (Ecuador,Venezuela,Indonesia,Bahrain,Iran,Iraq,Kuwait,Oman,Qatar,Saudi Arabia,UAE,Algeria,Gabon,Libya,Nigeria)	$232b
12	Brazil	$206.4b
13	Caribbean Banking Centers (Bahamas,Bermuda,Cayman,Dutch Antilles,Panama,British Virgin Islands)	$185.3b
14	Taiwan	$149.6b
15	Switzerland	$113.9b

As the U.S. government spends an unprecedented amount of money to fix the economy, there is an equally great need to raise the cash to pay for it. This is accomplished through borrowing, whereby Uncle Sam sells Treasury securities of varying maturity.

For investors, government bills, notes and bonds are considered safe because they have a guaranteed rate of return, based on faith in future U.S. tax revenues. The government has been partially funding operations via Treasury securities for decades.

This borrowing adds to the national debt, which has recently surpassed $15 trillion and is rising every second. The amount of debt is quickly approaching the federal debt ceiling, a legal limit to borrowing that currently stands at $ 16.4 trillion.

Much of that debt is held by private sector, but about 40 percent is held by public entities, including parts of the government. Here's who owns the most. Foreign countries listed include private and public investors, according to monthly U.S. Treasury data.

By Paul Toscano, Updated 31 Jan 2012

Jim Rogers: US Gov hiding inflation

CNBC interview video : Jim Rogers ~ "They're lying to us again"

IMF: Global outlook is gloomy

Lagarde: No country economy immune from rising risks – BBC

IMF head Christine Lagarde has said the world economic outlook is "gloomy" and no country is immune from rising risks.

Impact of Eurozone crisis

5 ways the eurozone crisis could impact you – Michael Estrin

European debt crisis: great impact

European Debt Crisis: You haven’t seen anything yet – Jeff Cox, CNBC

Fed: US Recession possible in 2012

Likelihood of US Recession in 2012 tops 50 Percent: Fed Paper – HuffPost

Student Loans the next Bubble?

Student Loans: The Next Bubble? – HuffPost

Singapore: Crisis worse than 2008

PM Lee: “This is worse than 2008 meltdown” – StraitsTimes

CANNES - As an escalating debt crisis in Greece hung over the first day of the Group of 20 (G-20) nations summit in France, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told G-20 leaders on Thursday that the European situation is a 'serious and volatile' one and on a bigger scale than the 2008 financial meltdown in the United States.

Stock Market headed for crash?

Increasing Volatility: Prelude to a Crash? – Charles Hugh Smith

The megaphone pattern in the U.S. stock market typically presages a major decline or full-blown crash.

Top indebted nations

10 most Indebted Nations

		Debt/GDP ratio			External Debt (billion)
1	Zimbabwe	234.10%	1	USA	$13,980 b
2	Japan	197.50%	2	EU	$13,720 b
3	St.Kitts & Nevis	185.00%	3	UK	$8,981 b
4	Greece	142.80%	4	Germany	$4,713 b
5	Lebanon	133.80%	5	France	$4,698 b
6	Jamaica	126.50%	6	Japan	$2,441 b
7	Iceland	126.10%	7	Ireland	$2,253 b
8	Italy	119.10%	8	Norway	$2,232 b
9	Singapore	105.80%	9	Italy	$2,223 b
10	Barbados	102.10%	10	Spain	$2,166 b

States with highest per capita debt

	State	Debt per capita	Total Debt 2011
1	Connecticut	$5,402	$99,751,147
2	Hawaii	$4,755	$36,310,406
3	New Jersey	$4,217	$281,544,674
4	North Dakota	$3,181	$6,255,605
5	New Mexico	$3,144	$37,802,200
6	California	$3,060	$612,054,955
7	Massachusetts	$3,040	$97,940,986
8	Delaware	$3,026	$14,424,923
9	Rhode Island	$3,000	$19,497,824
10	Oregon	$2,960	$58,019,973

Europe on course to crash?

Economic Crisis: Europe on the brink – The Week
How a debt problem that began with Greece now endangers the entire Eurozone & US.

It's so bad that it could drag down the global economy, and tip the U.S. back into recession. It might also mean the beginning of the end for the euro, the common currency of 17 countries and 330 million people. The debt crisis began in one corner of the continent — Greece — and has spread like an epidemic, threatening banks and investors and undermining the creditworthiness of other European countries. Bailed out last year by the EU to the tune of $140 billion, Greece enacted tax increases and deep public-sector cuts, outraging much of its population. But the cuts didn't end the crisis, and in some respects backfired. Greece's unemployment rate has soared to 16 percent, and its economy is on track to shrink 6 percent this year. As a result, the country's government has falling revenues, and less money with which to pay off its debt, which stands at 160 percent of GDP and climbing. (In comparison, U.S. debt is 100 percent of GDP.) So in July, Greece went back to the EU for a second bailout, of $157 billion. But the fed up EU now says it won't put up more money unless Greece makes more radical cuts to government spending.

Can Europe's debt crisis be contained ? - TheLookout, Zachary Roth 27 Sep 2011

Trader warns Eurozone will crash

.
BBC interviews Alessio Rastani – YouTube 26 Sep 2011 
"Market is toast". Governments cannot save economies; Goldman-Sachs rules the world.

Max Keiser: Alessio Rastani telling the truth; Bankers don't care about Economy – RT 29 Sep 2011

IMF: insufficient funds to bail out all if debt crisis worsens

IMF warns on funding levels if crisis worsens – BBC

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned it may not have enough money to bail out larger eurozone countries if the debt crisis were to spread.

IMF: US economy will be weak for years

IMF : US Economy may be weak for years to come - Andrew Beatty, AFP
WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday warned the US economy could remain weak for years to come, describing a recovery stalled amid unrelenting headwinds and in dire need of a push from government.

The Washington-based fund slashed its US growth forecasts for this year and next, while warning of the need for more government stimulus in the short-term as well as a credible longer-term plan to cut spending.

Economic Armageddon and you

This animated video explains inflation, stagflation, recession and more. (uploaded YouTube Jul 1, 2011)

Greece on path to default & leaving Euro

After contracting in 2009 & 2010, Greece’s GDP fell another 7% in Q2 2011. Unemployment is near 900,000 and projected to exceed 1.2 million, in a population of 11 million – that’s about 10.9%.

The austerity program has failed to meet its own targets for budget deficits : the target for 2011 was about 7% of GDP, but instead is likely to hit 10%. The Debt/GDP ratio could reach 200% in 2013, up from 115% in 2009.

Measures proposed by the government are not likely to succeed & probably will intensify the recession instead – and spark stiff political opposition.

Greece must default & quit Euro : The real debate is how – Costas Lapavitsas, Guardian
Desperate bid to keep EU corpse alive - Mail online

Banks cause rise in food prices

How Banks cause World Hunger – HuffPost

Banks and other financial speculators are increasingly “betting on food prices in financial markets,” according to this infographic from the World Development Movement. Food prices now account for 70 percent of total expenses in some of the world’s poorer households, hitting a record high in February. Looking forward, the OECD estimates that over the next decade cereal prices will rise 20 percent. That’s still less than meat prices, which are expected to jump by nearly a third. 

China cannot grow in isolation

Chinese Premier says country cannot grow in isolation – BBC

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said the country cannot grow in an isolated way, and it will look to develop global and domestic growth.

… Wen said that China would now focus on boosting its domestic demand, and this in turn would help the global economy.