1/4% Tax on all stock trades pushed in NY Times today

German industry groups warn against FTT

http://www.morgenpost.de/newsticker...chaft-warnt-vor-Finanztransaktionssteuer.html

(google translation):

A financial transactions tax would not only have negative effects on the financial sector itself, but "harmful consequences for businesses, employees and the economy as a whole," it said in a joint statement by eight large umbrella organizations for a hearing of the Bundestag's Finance Committee on Wednesday. This report and the newspapers of the "WAZ" media group (Saturday).

The tax would be added to the price of financial products. This contaminated private investors and companies and is expected to lower growth bring. Losses on general tax revenues threatened by being larger than the expected revenue of such a tax, arguing the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the German Industry and Commerce (DIHK), the Confederation of German Employers (BDA) and the associations of craft , banks, insurance, retail, wholesale and foreign trade.
 
Quote from Explorer:

German industry groups warn against FTT

http://www.morgenpost.de/newsticker...chaft-warnt-vor-Finanztransaktionssteuer.html

(google translation):

A financial transactions tax would not only have negative effects on the financial sector itself, but "harmful consequences for businesses, employees and the economy as a whole," it said in a joint statement by eight large umbrella organizations for a hearing of the Bundestag's Finance Committee on Wednesday. This report and the newspapers of the "WAZ" media group (Saturday).

The tax would be added to the price of financial products. This contaminated private investors and companies and is expected to lower growth bring. Losses on general tax revenues threatened by being larger than the expected revenue of such a tax, arguing the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the German Industry and Commerce (DIHK), the Confederation of German Employers (BDA) and the associations of craft , banks, insurance, retail, wholesale and foreign trade.
More...

For people not familiar with the German economy... these 8 organizations are the biggest lobbying groups of the German economy. This is not just just the financial sector. It is almost the whole private business sector now lobbying against it, even those organziations representing smaller and midsize businesses.

Seems they finally woke up and realized that this tax would spell complete disaster for the whole economy, not just the financial sector.

If they keep up their efforts, this tax is dead in Germany. And if it's dead in Germany, it's dead in Europe also.

Great news.
 
More good news today, this time from Spain.
It seems the People's Party (PP)which forms the new government there does not support a European FTT according to this Spanish article:

http://www.elperiodicodearagon.com/...bre-las-transacciones-financieras_717272.html

(google translation):

24/11/2011
The PSOE led yesterday to the Finance Committee debate on the appropriateness of applying a tax on financial transactions, to urge the EU to the creation of this tax. But only CHA supported him and IU. The PP said "no more taxes are needed" and the PAR request was "window dressing".
 
Quote from sculptor66:

Seems they finally woke up and realized that this tax would spell complete disaster for the whole economy, not just the financial sector.

If they keep up their efforts, this tax is dead in Germany. And if it's dead in Germany, it's dead in Europe also.

Great news.
More...

Anders Borg, the Swedish Finance Minister, has been saying for over a year that one of the many bad effects from the FTT is an increase in costs of capital which increases the cost of goods and services. This is, in his words, "a secondary tax on businesses and consumers" that will decrease GDP and increase unemployment. He spoke about it at the EcoFin meeting earlier this month. Maybe some countries are finally beginning to listen to him.

The push for the FTT by Germany will not end until Merkel is gone. She and her bunkmate, Jose "the clown" Barroso, will never give up on the FTT.
 
Just read a fascinating exposé on the birth and first few months of OWS in the New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/28/111128fa_fact_schwartz

A great read. The Adbusters CEO wanted OWS to adopt a demand early on, and one of his two suggestions was a specific attack on Wall Street, including FTT, hence his original name idea.

But the movement is "horizontal" and trying to be inclusive of the 99%. So, FTT is far too narrow a demand or interest. Think back to the 1960s and 70s, the student-led movement was against the Vietnam War - not a narrow beef with banks.

This article probably thinks its helpful to the OWS cause, but it exposes the cause as mostly amateur anarchists, with an initial cooky leader calling the shots from his bathtub on a farm, far from any society outside Vancouver - al la the cabin-secluded unibomber. He has the nerve to call for protests on Wall Street without any clue about NYC.

The horizontal governance is funny. They are forming a government from scratch and it sounds like the origins of regular government. It's a comedy of errors and this exposé doesn't curry much support for OWS in my view. It will weaken OWS from the lefts' view. Plus, the right is getting fed up with OWS too.

FTT won't be able to get a spark in the US and I hope it's dying in Germany-led EU too.
 
Largest quant, hedge fund gives conditional approval to FTT.

The article appears in ft.com. Unless you are a subscriber, google "hedge fund chief backs ftt"
 
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