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Kiplinger Reports, Summarized
Bite-sized intelligence you should know. Read the precis or just the headlines. Gain fluency in several areas with little effort Look for Congress to allow the sale of U.S.-made armed drones to Italy.
It's a matter of competition. Israel and China make drones now as well,
and could corner the global market if U.S. builders don't start selling them soon. Once lawmakers act, Australia, Canada and Germany will also place orders.
So far, only the United Kingdom has been able to buy armed drones from the U.S.
For General Atomics, the builder of the Predator
and Reaper, it will be a big boon. Lockheed Martin will benefit, too. Its Hellfire II missiles are used by drones. The sale of the unmanned planes has its critics. But the nations in line.
to buy them are already customers for supersophisticated and deadly fighter jets,
so the plan to add drones to the shopping cart should be a quick and easy call.
The $125-billion bailout of Spain isn't the end of the euro zone crisis. Fundamental issues of economic growth and diverging competitiveness must still be addressed by European leaders. The fallout from the June 17 elections in Greece and that nation's eventual move away from the euro also weigh heavily. The tentative deal in Spain raises concerns for investors. In particular, whether the lenient terms will push leaders to renegotiate previous bailout deals with Greece, Portugal and Ireland. The money is likely to come from a rescue fund that gives priority to governments over private investors when it comes to repayment. Meanwhile, euro zone economies are worsening. Expect an overall contraction of 0.5% this year, with bigger slumps in Greece (-5%), Portugal (-3.2%), Spain (-1.7%) and Italy (-1.5%). Germany and France are growing, but not enough to offset others.
Big-Money Politics Here to Stay-- From The Kiplinger LetterAs long as conservatives maintain the majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, unlimited political contributions will stay in place as the law of the land. A 2011 Montana Supreme Court ruling that challenged the high court's decision in the Citizens United case will be followed by other bids to restore donation limits. Five votes for an unfettered system remain solid: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Anthony Kennedy. So look for 5-4 votes or even summary judgments without votes to uphold the case that fueled the rise of so-called super PACs, which run ads on behalf of candidates. This year, deep-pocketed backers have given those PACs tens of millions of dollars.
Lawmakers Will Revive Debt Deal in 2013-- From The Kiplinger LetterExpect lawmakers to use a familiar blueprint to address the debt in 2013: The Simpson-Bowles plan, which has been gathering dust since 2010. Its ambitious call for $4 trillion in cuts was first praised, then largely ignored by politicians on both sides of the aisle as fierce partisanship blocked its path. Leaders from both parties see it as a starting point for new debt talks after the rancor of this congressional session and the 2012 election cycle fades. Both Obama and Romney will embrace the general thrust of the proposal but will refrain from debating specific provisions in advance of the election. Romney especially must tread lightly around its pairing of revenue and cuts to reach the $4-trillion target over 10 years. Two-thirds of the debt reduction would come from spending cuts. The rest would be from new revenue or tax hikes. A debt deal will be a bitter pill to swallow, but something has to be done eventually. Simpson-Bowles allows for a quick restart of the debate next year, after this year's brutal lame-duck session, which will bring just a temporary fix.
Firms Offer to Fix Your Internet Profile-- From The Kiplinger LetterAs more and more employers delve into job seekers' social media histories, Web entrepreneurs see a business opportunity. One new firm, BrandYourself, gives people a way to put their best foot forward by manipulating search engine results through search engine optimization, boosting the best info about them to the top of a search engine's first page of results. The first three links are free. After that, the firm charges a fee for additional links. Any negative info will still appear online but farther down the list, and few employers take the time to comb through every page.
Energy Prices Will Ease Further-- From The Kiplinger LetterThe price of a barrel of oil may fall into the mid-$70s in coming weeks, vs. today's low-$80s and the high of nearly $109 this past March. Why? Oil output by Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and others is still surging in the face of softening demand. As supply and demand come into better balance this summer, helped by sanctions on oil exports from Iran, the price will stabilize before climbing to $90-$95 by the fall. Of course, any flare-up over Iran's nuclear ambitions would bring a sudden spike. Gasoline pump prices will ease further this summer. The average price, now at $3.56 per gallon for regular unleaded, could go as low as $3.30 by mid-July. Diesel, ditto. It'll slide to $3.70 a gallon, on average, from today's $3.85. Natural gas will remain a bargain, struggling to crest $3 per million Btu, even as drillers try to perk up prices by trimming production. The extremely high levels of natural gas in storage will take a while to work off. From The Kiplinger LetterMore states are mulling employer tax credits for hiring military veterans. Among them: Hawaii, Alaska, Calif., Minn., Wis., Mich., Iowa, Ind., N.C., Va., Pa., N.Y., N.J. and Mass. Credits are in place in Vt., Ala., W.Va., Ill., N.M. and Ariz. A number of states also push employers to put vets at the front of the line for open jobs and/or give preferences to veteran-owned businesses in awarding state contracts. Plus the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is expanding its hire-a-vet campaign. "Hiring Our Heroes" aims to hold 400 job fairs from March 2012 to March 2013, pairing veterans with hirers. In June, it'll spotlight openings in financial services. Also available to veterans interested in self-employment: Help with starting franchises. The International Franchise Association and hundreds of franchise companies give support, training and financial assistance. Eight universities offer entrepreneurship boot camp for vets with disabilities. And from the Small Business Administration a lending program, called Patriot Express, to expedite loan requests from veterans and their spouses.
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© 2012, The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.
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