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Pending Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Climb for Third Month | Katonah Homes

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Pending home sales rose for the third month in November, a sign of the housing recovery’s resilience in the face of fiscal threats facing the U.S.

The index of pending home sales climbed 1.7 percent to 106.4, the highest reading since April 2010, after a revised 5 percent gain in October, the National Association of Realtors reported today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 1 percent advance.

Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) — Robert Shiller, a professor at Yale University and co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values, talks about the outlook for the U.S. housing market. He speaks with Sara Eisen on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) — James Lockhart, vice chairman of WL Ross & Co., talks about the outlook for the residential real estate mortgage market and the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax increases and spending cuts. Lockhart speaks with Sara Eisen, Mike McKee and Alix Steel on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Low borrowing costs and stable prices are drawing homebuyers three years after a recession triggered in part by a collapse in housing prices. Fewer foreclosures are coming onto the market, easing concerns that values could fall.

“Housing is building some momentum,” Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. “There is a growing perception that now is a good time to buy. Prices are starting to tick up, mortgage rates are still rock-bottom and the job market has shown some signs of improvement.”

Another report today showed the economy picked up in December. The MNI Chicago Report’s business barometer rose to 51.6 in December, a four-month high, from 50.4 in November. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between expansion and contraction.

Shares Drop

Stocks slumped, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lower for a fifth day, amid concern talks between President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers may not yield a budget deal by the year-end deadline. The 500 Index fell 0.6 percent to 1,408.99 at 10 a.m. in New York.

Estimates for pending home sales in the Bloomberg survey of 35 economists ranged from a 2.7 percent drop to an increase of 6 percent.

Three of four regions showed a gain last month, including a 5.2 percent increase in the Northeast and a 4.2 percent advance in the West. Sales contracts were little changed in the South.

Pending sales are considered a leading indicator because they track purchase contracts in advance of actual transactions, which are tabulated a month or two later. Existing or previously owned homes account for more than 90 percent of the housing market.

Sales of existing homes reached a three-year high in November, rising 5.9 percent to a 5.04 million annual rate, the Realtor group reported last week.

Sales Climb

New-home sales, also logged when contracts are signed, rose 4.4 percent in November to a 377,000 annual pace, the highest level since April 2010, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.

Property values, too, are picking up. The S&P/Case-Shiller index last week showed home prices rose 4.3 percent in October from a year earlier, the biggest 12-month advance since May 2010.

Record-low borrowing costs have helped fuel demand for would-be buyers who qualify for financing. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.35 percent this week, according to Freddie Mac. A late November reading of 3.31 percent was the lowest in data going back to 1972.

Federal Reserve policy makers this month expanded asset purchases in a continuing bid to reduce unemployment and spur growth. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has said that tight credit availability remains a concern to the housing market.

Stronger Traffic

Homebuilders are taking advantage of strong demand and tight inventory by breaking ground on new communities and raising prices. Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) and KB Home (KBH) are reporting stronger traffic at their sales offices.

“New demand is now being created due to increased urgency to take advantage of incredible affordability as prices are now on the rise,” KB Home Chief Executive Officer Jeff Mezger said on a Dec. 20 earnings call. “While it’s been a few years in the making, housing is becoming a bright spot for the economy and the industry is once again positioned to play its historical role of being a job creator and leading the national economy into a full recovery.”

via bloomberg.com

6 Cliches You Need to Develop Killer Web Series Content | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Below is a list of cliches every creator should know when developing a web show or web series. Development is the first chance a show has to “get it right” or “get it wrong” before entering into production and ultimately published online. These tips on programming, format, audience and overall strategy will help you save time, money and increase your chance for web show success:

6 Cliches You Need to Develop Killer Web Show Content

1) “Two’s a failure, three’s a success”

Your content should satisfy your brand, your audience and you personally. These 3 areas are the sweet spot of successful web content. Your brand is the channel, business or identity that you’ve created that exists when you’re not in the room. Your audience is someone specific (#3 below). And YOU are the one who needs to be inspired to create the content consistently. A perfect example of this is ReelSEO’s very own Creator Tip series.

2) “For every $1 spent in pre-production, you save $5 in production & $10 in post”

This rule extends to content development. Spend time crafting a strong show format and script first, and you’ll reap benefits from production to audience development. FreddieW spent over a year writing Video Game High School and EpicMealTime’s Epic Chef was hinted at many months before we saw it publised.

3) “If your audience is everyone, your audience is no one”

When developing content I always create 3 audience personas: target, broad and opportunity. These fictional people have names and behaviors and allow me to understand who we’re creating the show for. Use YouTube Analytics and Facebook Insights to extract demographics and content trends. There’s a reason AOL On serves entertainment news and Revision3 is exclusively unscripted content.

4) “Bad creators steal, good creators iterate”

See what I did there? On the internet it’s fine to be blatantly “inspired” by others work. Just make sure you give it your own voice, personality and a fresh twist. Make a new version, also known as “iterating”. Audiences are drawn to content they already know. SourceFed wasn’t the first web show to cover a news topic, but they developed a unique show with personality.

5) “Shoot for the low hanging fruit”

when developing a new channel use popular, social trends to draw in audiences. Then retain them with your original, but less social, creations. I recently worked with DustFilmsOriginals on is content strategy. His wonderful shorts couldn’t find an audience so he made a Man of Steel parody to draw in audiences. Now they’re watching his originals too!

6) “This program is part of a balanced diet”

Have you considered adding a show to your programming slate? If you can afford the investment, more content can help you grow your audience, brand and ultimately revenue. But make the new show compliments the existing program. A solid channel supports their flagship content with talk show, behind the scenes and Q&A content. Just look at MyMusic Show and IGN Start for a balanced programming diet.

via reelseo.com

List Prices Flatten Despite Sinking Inventory | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Inventories continued to fall in November to record lows and the age of the nation’s listings inventory declined, but asking prices failed to rise as housing markets prepared for their annual wintertime hibernation. The total U.S. for-sale inventory of single family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops dropped to its lowest point since 2007, with 1.674 million units for sale in November, down 16.87 percent compared to a year ago and more than 45 percent below its peak of 3.1 million units in September 2007, when Realtor.com began monitoring these markets. The median age of the inventory was also down by 11.4 percent on a year-over-year basis. The national for-sale inventory in November (1,674,412) decreased (4.69 percent) from what it was in October and was down by 16.87 percent on an annual basis. The large year-over-year decline in inventory is a positive sign that the market may have worked through much of its excess inventory, which should help to bolster housing prices and potentially set the stage for additional growth. The median age of inventory of for-sale listings was 101 days in November, up by 4.12 percent from October, but 11.40 percent below the median age a year ago (November 2011). While the median age of the inventory is highly seasonal, the year-over-year decline is consistent with other data that shows a general tightening of market conditions throughout the year. However, the median list price in November ($189,900) was the same as it was a year ago despite the significant gains observed earlier in the year. The nationwide median list price ($189,900) held steady in November and is essentially unchanged from a year ago. While the gains that accompanied the onset of the 2012 spring home buying season have disappeared at the national level, record-low inventories may prevent a further erosion of list prices in 2013.according to November data from Realtor.com. National data masks pronounced regional differences in the strength of the housing market. Patterns that have been observed throughout the year continued to run their course, as markets that were once the epicenter of the housing crisis continued to strengthen while markets in more industrialized parts of the Midwest and Northeast continued to fall behind. California, Arizona, and Washington markets are ending the year with dramatic declines in their number of for-sale properties, coupled with significant year-over-year list price increases of 10 percent of more. However, markets such as Peoria, Ill.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Toledo, Ohio-areas that never experienced a rapid run-up in their housing prices-have experienced median list prices that are down by as much as 10 percent on an annual basis and significantly smaller year-over-year reductions in their for-sale inventories. On a year-over-year basis, the for-sale inventory declined in all but five of the 146 markets covered by Realtor.com, while list prices increased in 70 markets, held steady in 30 markets and declined in 46 markets. The number of markets experiencing year-over-year list price declines has increased steadily in recent months, underscoring the continued fragility of many housing markets.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

New Home Construction is Still Only 40 Percent of Normal | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Single family home construction, the largest segment of the nation’s home building industry, is operating at only 40 percent of its normal capacity despite a healthy improvement in starts and production over last year.

Single-family home starts are projected to climb to 534,000 units this year, up 23 percent from 2011. NAHB is forecasting that single-family new-home production will post a healthy 21 percent gain in 2013 to 647,000 units. Starts are expected to continue their upward climb in 2014, posting a further 29 percent rise to 837,000 units, the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders forecast today.

“Consistent, positive reports on housing starts, permits, prices, new-home sales and builder confidence in recent months provide further confirmation that a gradual but steady housing recovery is underway across much of the nation,” said NAHB’s David Crowe. “However, stubbornly tight lending standards for home buyers and builders, inaccurate appraisals and proposals by policymakers to tamper with the mortgage interest deduction could dampen future housing demand.”

“It’s the single-family market that has the farthest to go, standing at only 40 percent of what is considered a typical market,” Crowe said.

Noting that there is no consistent national trend, Crowe noted the housing recovery is local but spreading. “We are transitioning from a very low demand level, where most people hold themselves out of the marketplace, to a case where supply will start being the problem,” he said. “As we begin to build more homes to address that supply, the new home stock will be a much more important element of the recovery.”

The number of improving housing markets across the nation continues to show considerable advancement. When the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) was launched in September of 2011, only 12 metropolitan areas out of 360 were on the list. As of December 2012, the list stands at more than 200 metro areas. The index is based on a six-month upswing in housing permits, employment and house prices.

Another factor spurring the recovery is that household formations are on the rise. In the early part of the decade, the nation was generating 1.4 million new households each year. This collapsed to 500,000 annually during the housing downturn and currently new households are being formed at close to a 900,000 clip per annum.

As new households form at a growing rate, so too does builder confidence. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which measures builder confidence in the single-family housing market, has posted gains for eight consecutive months and now stands at a level of 47. This is very close to the critical midpoint of 50, where equal numbers of builders view the market as good or bad. The HMI has not been above 50 since April of 2006.

Multifamily production is expected to rise 31 percent in 2012, reaching the 233,000 level, and posting a solid 16 percent gain in 2013 to 270,000 units. Multifamily starts are anticipated to rise an additional 9 percent in 2014 to 294,000 units.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Asians Lead Ultra Luxury Foreign Invasion | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Nearly twice as many homes priced over $10 million were sold to Asians as Western Europeans in the US last year, while buyers from the Americas dominate a far greater share of the international sales for all price tiers than either Asians or Western Europeans.

Of the 28 percent of international buyers measured by a recent Coldwell Banker International Previews survey of its agents, 39 percent come from Asia and only 20 percent come from Western Europe.  Coldwell Banker did not break down its data by country of origin.

Asians have been gaining in their share of all price ranges but are not nearly as dominant as the lower tiers as they are in the ultra luxury category, as reported by last June by the National Association of Realtors in its annual Profile of International Home Buying Activity.  According to the NAR report of all price ranges, market share of purchases by buyers from China, Japan and India have increased from 12 to 18 percent since 2007.  Chinese purchases alone have risen from 5 to 11 percent of all foreign sales in the last five years.  During the same period, purchases by Europeans have increased from 19 percent to 14 percent.

Buyers from North, South and Central America continue to dominate all international purchases, account for 35 percent of all international sales in 2011.  But for homes priced over $1 million, buyers from the Americas trail Asians and Europeans, except in Miami. According to Helen Jeanne Nicastri, a Coldwell Banker International Previews specialist in Coral Gables: “At least half of the buyers in Miami are international, and are specifically coming from Latin America-including Brazil,Venezuela, Mexico and Argentina.”

Coldwell Banker Previews International also released rankings of top luxury zip codes.

Top Ten Markets by Zip Code: Listings Over $10 Million

ZIP codeCity/ State

Number of Listings

90210Beverly Hills, CA19
81611Aspen, CO13
93108Santa Barbara, CA13
90077Los Angeles, CA9
33139Miami Beach, FL7
94027Atherton, CA7
06830Greenwich, CT6
90265Malibu, CA5
90049Los Angeles, CA5
94115San Francisco, CA5

Coldwell Banker Previews International 2012

via realestateeconomywatch.com

America’s economy: Over the cliff? | Katonah Realtor

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BEN BERNANKE, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, is not known for his turns of phrase. But “fiscal cliff”—the term he coined to describe the tax increases and spending cuts that will hit America’s economy at the start of 2013 unless politicians agree to avert them—has inspired songs (“The fiscal cliff is a danger zone/It’s where grown men go when budgets are blown,” croons Merle Hazard, a satirical singer) and television comedy (Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” calls it “Cliffpocalypsemageddonacaust”).

There have also been more serious consequences. The shadow of the fiscal cliff has depressed corporate investment. American consumer confidence has started to wobble. Growth is slowing, perhaps to as little as 1% in the fourth quarter. Policymakers around the world are fretting: Australia’s central bank has just cut rates, citing the cliff as a worry.

These worries are understandable but overblown (see article). In the short term the risk of economic catastrophe is minimal. The real threat—and the real opportunity for Barack Obama—lies in the medium and long term.

The long and the short of it

If lawmakers do nothing, America faces fiscal tightening in 2013 worth up to 5% of GDP. That is a Greek-scale squeeze. It would not take many months for it to push the country into recession. A complete stand-off between Mr Obama and Congress would lead to disaster even sooner, for unless America’s lawmakers vote to increase the “debt ceiling” (the maximum amount of debt that the Treasury can issue) by around March, the federal government will be unable to pay its bills—including, potentially, its bondholders. The damage from a self-induced default would dwarf even that from the fiscal cliff.

However, precisely because the consequences of prolonged stalemate would be so disastrous, there almost certainly will not be one. Either towards the end of December, or early in 2013, Mr Obama and the Republicans in Congress are likely to reach an agreement that avoids most of the tax increases and spending cuts, and raises the debt ceiling. Elements of that deal are becoming a little clearer: the Republicans seem to have given in to Mr Obama and accepted that wealthier Americans will have to pay more tax, probably through both limited deductions and higher tax rates.

But there are still two big reasons for America—and the rest of the world—to worry. First, depending on the details of the deal, there could still be too great a fiscal squeeze in 2013. Second, and more important, entitlement spending is America’s biggest long-term fiscal challenge. Any fiscal deal must reform Social Security (pensions), Medicare (for the old) and Medicaid (for the poor). Mr Obama has been demanding tax increases of $1.6 trillion over the next ten years, but has offered entitlement cuts of only some $400 billion. He needs to increase the latter, to entice the Republicans into a deal and because it is the right thing to do.

America has a chance to straighten out not just its finances, but also the highly polarised politics that underpin them. Republicans believe passionately that higher taxes will wreck the economy; no Republican in Congress has voted for higher income taxes since 1990. Democrats believe equally passionately in the sanctity of health-care and pension schemes for the old. The last time pensions were overhauled was in 1983. Since then politicians have added handouts even as medical costs have soared and the population has aged. The result is a gaping, and growing, fiscal hole. America’s underlying “structural” budget deficit is almost 7% of GDP. Among rich countries, only Japan’s is bigger.

Since the financial crisis America’s ideological stand-off has, as it happens, produced sensible short-term fiscal policy. The United States cushioned its recession with stimulus and, by keeping fiscal policy loose, has supported the recovery. With many other rich countries tightening further and faster, that did the world a service.

In today’s weak recovery the same logic holds. With bond yields near record lows America need not, and should not, tighten policy too fast. Some tightening in 2013 is both expected and manageable. Most forecasters expect around 1.5% of GDP, as measures that were always designed to be temporary, such as the payroll-tax cut, expire. But there is a danger that a minimalist deal would result in too big a squeeze. An agreement that extended tax cuts only for the middle-class, for instance, would imply a tightening of some 3% of GDP in 2013. That is too fast.

To preserve the recovery, a deal must be less draconian. It should focus on long-term entitlement reform rather than short-term cuts. That is good politics, since overhauling entitlements is a Republican priority. And it is good economics. Spending on the old will rise faster in America than in most other rich countries. That is partly because Europe’s austerity plans have already delivered some fairly tough pension reforms, but mainly because America’s health-care costs are so high and rising fast.

A big deal

Mr Obama has the opportunity to fix this and to reform entitlements—something that has eluded every president since Ronald Reagan. The combination of his re-election and the fiscal cliff has forced the Republicans to show some flexibility on increasing the tax take. That victory has given Mr Obama leverage over the left of his own party. If he uses it to force real change, from lower indexation of pension payments to tougher means-testing of health-care benefits, he will transform America’s long-term fiscal outlook.

So far the president has shown lamentably little boldness, arguing that pensions should not be part of any deal and that health-care costs can be controlled by reducing payments to providers, such as hospitals (as opposed to cutting benefits). In private, things may be different. Mr Obama is said to want a big deal that not only averts the fiscal cliff but sets America on a sustainable fiscal course. Such a deal is within his reach. He should grasp it.

via economist.com

Obélix among the Belgians | Katonah-Lewisboro Real Estate

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Gérard Depardieu, the French actor, has said he is giving up his passport in an escalation of his dispute with François Hollande’s Socialist government over its punitive tax rates.

In an open letter to Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French prime minister, on Sunday, Mr Depardieu said he was quitting France for Belgium because “you consider that success, creativity and talent … must be sanctioned”.

The move by the 63-year-old film actor, who is popular in France after playing roles such as Cyrano de Bergerac and Astérix the Gaul’s sidekick Obélix, would be the highest-profile departure since Mr Hollande imposed a 75 per cent tax rate on people earning more than €1m a year.

“I hand over my passport to you and my social security card, which I have never used,” the letter said, referring to prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

It is unclear whether Mr Depardieu has taken concrete steps to renounce his French citizenship though he has reportedly inquired about procedures for acquiring Belgian residency.

In his letter, Mr Depardieu said he had paid 85 per cent taxes on his revenues this year and estimated that he had paid €145m in total since he started work as a printer at the age of 14.

Bernard Arnault, chief executive of LVMH and France’s richest man, has also sought to establish residency in Belgium, though he has insisted this is not for tax reasons.

David Cameron, the British prime minister, offered to “roll out the red carpet” to French tax exiles after Mr Hollande’s election in May, though much of the evidence of departures has remained largely anecdotal so far, with estate agents and hairdressers complaining about the loss of custom as bankers quit Paris.

Other business leaders such as Jean-Paul Agon, chief executive of L’Oréal, have warned of the damage to France as a global business destination from the new tax rate, which the government says is temporary while the economy recovers.

Mr Depardieu, who has put his luxury house on Paris’s Left Bank up for sale for an estimated €50m, had been labelled “pathetic” and unpatriotic by Mr Ayrault after it emerged that he was planning to leave the country.

In his angry letter, published in Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Mr Depardieu said he had been “insulted” by Mr Ayrault.

“I haven’t killed anybody, I don’t think I have acted in an unworthy manner. I’ve paid €145m in taxes in 44 years, I have created work for 80 people in businesses that have been created for them and which are managed by them. I’m not complaining or looking for praise but I reject the word ‘pathetic’.”

The actor added: “Who are you to judge me like this, Mr Ayrault? I ask you, who are you?”

The furore has taken place amid evidence of the increasing unpopularity of Mr Hollande’s government, including from the left after its perceived capitulation during a dispute with ArcelorMittal over the closure of two steel furnaces.

Ifop, the French pollsters, said at the weekend that Mr Hollande’s public approval rating was just 37 per cent and Mr Ayrault’s 35 per cent.

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Comments

  1. Report A_Reader | December 16 8:45pm |

    Dear All,

    Let me see if I understood well. CB’s printed money to keep the Oligarchy intact and the whole Socio-economic structures exactly as it was before the crisis. This means that in practice nothing changed in terms of who has the power.

    We have in place the same people who did the bad decisions and the bad investments and who to save their own positions have literally messed up the lives of the ones who had foreseen and advised what had to be done before the crisis. had the CB’s not put a penny in the system and let it fail wll the current Establishement would be now failing and in disgrace. Insurance companies would have gone broken and also many of the asset managment companies and the banks and in this way the so called billionares would have a high probability of being in the best of the cases millionaires.

    Only the few ones with access to liquidity would have been saved. People who would be honest and have their assets in a non-leveraged way would be saved and would probably be quite rich as they would be able to buy those expensive assets for peanuts.

    The good ones would have been the ones gettiong the world. Now what we have is the richers even more richer having used the money from the rest to keep the Status Quo just like it was…. and they do not want to understand that they have been bailed out…. at the cost of the good ones….

    What a mess!!

    Mr Depardieu is certainly right in not wanting to pay 75% in taxes…. but I am not sure he is well aware of how much he would have lost if the crooks would not have been saved by the current crooks in power…

    What a robery!!

    Many thanks, Best regards, A_Reader

  2. Report Bob G. | December 16 8:11pm |

    The French socialist revolution is going to sink France into depression. How can one dream of grandeur in a country that will Robin Hood your money to feed government bureaucrats? It doesn’t even make its way to the poor. France declared war on finance and rich people. They certainly have every right to flea the country under asylum rules. Will France succeed as a country of technocrats, striking unions and whiners? Let’s see.

  3. Report Apostle | December 16 6:38pm |

    Pathetic are Ayrault’s personal attacks and Hollande’s leadership.

    Ayrault and Hollande have taken a sharp left turn, their road leads to serfdom and poverty, their sermons of ‘high taxes are patriotic’ nothing more than Orwellian ‘slavery is freedom’ and ‘ignorance is strength’.

    Merci, Mr. Depardieu, for having the courage to stand up, speak your mind and walk out in protest.

  4. Report Thinkofitthisway | December 16 6:23pm |

    Not much to add to Depardieu´s very good letter. One cannot help but feel contempt for a government which pushes people out of their own country. Arrogant, resentful and short sighted the Hollande team represents the worst kind of conservatism: no ideas, no courage, just slimy and cheap populism.

  5. Report W Kurtz | December 16 6:21pm |

    Obviously he is just a greedy unpatriotic old man Who for some reason is unhappy with retaining a generous 15% of the income he had earned. The real question here is why let him keep that 15% . Why not make the tax 99% of income or better yet get it over with and take 100% of what he earns. If he does not comply we can assassinate his character.. to start with. From each according to his means, to each according to his needs. Clearly the government can redistribute that money in a better fashion than he can. Hmm. Where have we seen this kind of model before? Anyway I’m sure it will work out fine.

  6. Report MacroMacro | December 16 5:32pm |

    At 75 PCF tax revenues will still fall short, so what then 85 pct, 90 pct, perchais thé lot.

  7. Report MarkH | December 16 4:45pm |

    The rich in the USA are kicking and screaming about a modest tax increase from 35% to as much as 39% and consider the new rate would be crippling. Is it any wonder that the sensible wealthy like M. Depardieu are fleeing France when faced with a ridiculous rate of 75%?

    Well done, Gerard, for showing some common sense and sending a message to the lunatic left in Paris and let’s hope that more like you leave France in the immediate future until Holland et co get the message that this super tax and other measures they are taking are doing irreparable damage to the French economy. Once the wealthy businessmen flee the country and take their businesses with them, they won’t be coming back.

  8. Report SZehle | December 16 4:44pm |

    According to a survey carried out by Ipsos in 2011 in France, 66 % of French parents would like their children to become civil servants “fonctionnaire”. In other words they want their children to be paid by other people who create wealth. To finance those ambitions a tax rate of 75% seems roughly right.

  9. Report The real greybeard | December 16 3:54pm |

    @Nina Benitez
    Difficult to be a young person in Europe today. Educated beyond the capacity of the job market. Well educated but nobody gives a damn. Just wanting an opportunity to start somehow, somewhere …

  10. Report Nina Benitez | December 16 1:42pm |

    The current Socialist government has no new ideas. It’s still following the OLD prescriptions. There is nothing in the policies of Hollande’s government to help young people start new businesses. Young people in France suffer disproportionately high unemployment. They work on lousy temporary contracts for low wages. They’re ambitious and want independence (i.e. starting their own businesses) just like lots of young people around the world. But France’s regulations make it so hard and expensive for a young person to do that and now, the government, via its increased taxes, has just made it impossible for these new businesses to raise capital. Many young, smart, ambitious people are leaving France. And it’s not because they’re greedy. They just want to have a decent chance to start something of their own.

  11. Report The real greybeard | December 16 1:07pm |

    Let him go.

    When you are rich you can decide where to reside. This is a benefit of being rich and when you are rich enough you will decide where you want to live, whatever the income tax..

    I have several friends who left UK to avoid tax. Of course the UK does not control how often they are in UK so it is an easy scam. Still they worry when they cross the border.

    Personally I am rich enough that I do not care about the tax rate and I live where I choose. Luxury!

    Tax avoidance is for the in-betweens.

  12. Report Frank63 | December 16 1:06pm |

    Yes, the wealthy should pay their fair share towards society, but paying 85% or even 75% in taxes is simply daylight robbery. No sane government should imagine that it can take away half or more of anyone’s income. Psychologically not holding onto half of what you earn is simply going to enrage most people and cause them to take evasive action. The French smash and grab is a lazy way of dealing with the real issues.

    Having said, the current capitalist system is surely broken and we need a different form of capitalism, but again, grabbing 50% or more of what a person or company earns is not the way to go.

via ft.com