Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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• NSA Monitored Calls of 35 World Leaders; Mistrust Mounts: Merkel and Hollande to Change Intelligence Ties With US; Edward Snowden - US, World Hero
• Made in France: Montebourg Ridiculed in Text and Pictures; France Goes After "Red Bull" Energy Drinks to Finance Social Security
• Tips on Navigating Obamacare Costs on HealthCare.Gov - My Personal Experience - Obamashock!

NSA Monitored Calls of 35 World Leaders; Mistrust Mounts: Merkel and Hollande to Change Intelligence Ties With US; Edward Snowden - US, World Hero Posted: 25 Oct 2013 01:07 PM PDT NSA contact lists show NSA monitored calls of 35 world leaders. The National Security Agency monitored the phone conversations of 35 world leaders after being given the numbers by an official in another US government department, according to a classified document provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The confidential memo reveals that the NSA encourages senior officials in its "customer" departments, such as the White House, State and the Pentagon, to share their "Rolodexes" so the agency can add the phone numbers of leading foreign politicians to their surveillance systems. The document notes that one unnamed US official handed over 200 numbers, including those of the 35 world leaders, none of whom is named. These were immediately "tasked" for monitoring by the NSA. The NSA memo obtained by the Guardian suggests that such surveillance was not isolated, as the agency routinely monitors the phone numbers of world leaders – and even asks for the assistance of other US officials to do so. The memo, dated October 2006 and which was issued to staff in the agency's Signals Intelligence Directorate (SID), was titled "Customers Can Help SID Obtain Targetable Phone Numbers". The NSA memo seen by the Guardian was written halfway through George W Bush's second term, when Condoleezza Rice was secretary of state and Donald Rumsfeld was in his final months as defence secretary. Merkel Phones Obama Over incident On Wednesday, Merkel phoned president Obama to complain. For details see Germany Accuses US of Spying on Merkel's Phone; Merkel Phones Obama; Why Should Any Country Trust the US? Mistrust Mounts: Merkel and Hollande to Change Intelligence Ties With US As mistrust mounts over NSA spying, Merkel and Hollande to change intelligence ties with US. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said she and her French counterpart would launch a "joint initiative" to renegotiate their intelligence services' co-operation with the US, saying protocols must be set following revelations of widespread American eavesdropping on European leaders. "I think the services need to come to agreement between each other on yardsticks and other norms and standards," Ms Merkel said at a press conference after the first day of a two-day summit in Brussels. "Words are not sufficient. True change is necessary." The insistence on renegotiating the agreements is likely to ratchet up the transatlantic tensions over spying by the US National Security Agency, which Berlin alleges tapped into Ms Merkel's personal mobile phone. Over the course of the past week, several media organisations relying on documents supplied by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have reported extensive spying operations in France, Germany and Italy. The German chancellor said she has not changed her communications behaviour, adding it was unclear whether her encrypted mobile used for government work or a non-secure line she uses for party politics was being tapped. "This partnership . . . is a partnership that has stood the test of time," Ms Merkel said of US-German ties. "But for the future, things have to change and they have to change radically." Whistleblower Snowden Explains Himself Edward Snowden - US, World Hero Edward Snowden, the man who leaked NSA data to the Guardian is a wanted man in the US. I consider him a national hero. Ironically, many countries who benefited from his leaks, including France and Germany, refuse to grant Snowden political asylum. Last summer, France and Portugal would not grant air space to plane carrying Bolivian president Evo Morales based on false US intelligence that Snowden was aboard. Morales' plane was forced to make an unscheduled stopover in Vienna. For details, please see Venezuela, Nicaragua offer asylum to Snowden; Double Standards and Hypocrite Allies. This is what I said at the time ... The Snowden affair is an absolute disgrace all around: By the US for its actions, then by Spain, by Portugal, by France and by any country that would not grant air clearance to Bolivia President Evo Morales based on totally unfounded and piss poor US intelligence reporting that suggested Snowden was on Morales' plane. Even if countries were 100% certain Snowden was on the plane, they should not have honored the request by the US to ground the plane or deny air space flyover. I am disappointed that neither New Zealand nor Australia would offer asylum. Is there any dignity left in this world? I guess not, given the world bows down to the almighty US even when we spit in the face of our key allies by bugging their offices. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Made in France: Montebourg Ridiculed in Text and Pictures; France Goes After "Red Bull" Energy Drinks to Finance Social Security Posted: 25 Oct 2013 09:49 AM PDT In response to Montebourg Announces Deal Between Goodyear and Titan to Save Union Jobs (One Problem - Goodyear Did Not Even Receive the Offer), one of several recent posts on Arnaud Montebourg, France's Minister of Productive Recovery, reader "AC" who lives in France responded ... Hi Mish, To understand Montebourg, take a look at some "Made in France" images. Montebourg "advertises Made in France" while holding Moulinex blenders and wearing classical "marinière" shirts. He is literally the object of tons of sarcastic comments and gags. Once president Francois Hollande was elected, Hollande preferred having Montebourg within the government rather than outside, to avoid having him contest actions each and every day from the left. When telecom operator Free was awarded the fourth mobile license in France and launched its very low cost service, Montebourg said that Free had done more for purchasing power of French people than all the actions of then president Nicolas Sarkozy. But when Montebourg became Minister he started a very aggressive campaign against Free and its pricing, accusing them of destroying French jobs. Best regards, AC Montebourg in the News Check out these Montebourg Headlines on Ozap.Com (the same site that mocked Montebourg and his blender). You Have a Problem With Your Brain - Arnaud Montebourg to a reporter: "You have a problem with your brain"   Montebourg Preserves "French Gem" DailyMotion From the Clutches of Yahoo! - The day Arnaud Montebourg prevented the acquisition of DailyMotion by Yahoo! France Goes After "Red Bull" Energy Drinks Where there's socialists, there's economic nonsense. Here is another case in point via translation from Les Echos. Socialists want to introduce a levy of 1 euro per liter of energy drinks Members start Tuesday afternoon discussion of the draft law on financing of Social Security. Three highly controversial tax reforms will focus much of the attention. Tax Hike Number One: Taxes Harmonized (to the Highest Level) The tax bill provides for an overhaul of the tax burdens on investment products. Social security contributions applicable to the majority of products are 15.5%, but the rate may be lower depending on the date of realization of gains. The executive wants to "harmonize the rule", which should generate 600 million euros in 2014. Tax Hike Number Two: Energy Drinks Gérard Bapt, a Socialist Party member of the National Assembly of France wants to introduce a levy of 1 euro per liter on energy drinks, which would bring about sixty million. "It is not a measure of fiscal performance but public health," he defends. Measure Number Three: Redistribution Schemes (to Make People Feel Better) In April, half of retirees started paying a levy of 0.3% on their pensions, expected to bring €645 million in 2014. After "embezzlement" claims from both the left and the right, socialists adopted an amendment that directs a portion of the performance fee - €130 million - to help the frail elderly. Perspective on €1 Per Liter A liter is about 1.057 quarts. €1 is worth about $1.38. So, imagine paying a tax of $1.38 on a quart of pop, and you approximately understand the proposal. The tax is meant solely to "protect the public health". What France really needs is protection from Hollande, Montebourg, and socialists in general. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com  Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Tips on Navigating Obamacare Costs on HealthCare.Gov - My Personal Experience - Obamashock! Posted: 24 Oct 2013 11:47 PM PDT You can now see cost options of various Obamacare plans whether or not you are registered. Once on the site (click on the above link), filter your state and county. Click on the lines as shown by the arrow, not the "i" symbol. Don't bother with the instruction line at the top of the form that reads "For instructions on how to read and use this data, please view the documentation available under the 'About' tab on" If you find and click on the "about tab",  it humorously looks like this: After you click on the "about tab", one of the first things you will see is the message "For instructions on how to read and use this data, please view the documentation available under the 'About' tab on this page." Zero Stars One person actually gave this page three stars. I wanted to give it zero stars, but that was not an option. I tried one star, but I was not registered, so my vote did not count. Out of 399,014 visits, only one person voted on the quality of the page. There are some links on the page, but none of them were at all helpful on how to use the page. After doing some external searches as to what some of the fields mean, I attempted to download data and it actually worked. Rather than use the site tools, I did additional filtering, sorting, and column removal in Excel. McHenry County, Illinois Plans I live in McHenry County, Illinois.  There were 4216 plans for Illinois. There were 60 plans for McHenry County. I stripped off the columns for State, Issuer Name, Rating Area, and Display. Here are the results for McHenry County. County Level Plan Marketing Name Type Age 27 Age 50 Family MC HENRY Platinum Humana National Preferred Platinum 1000/1500 Plan PPO $383.48 $653.52 $1295.34 MC HENRY Gold Aetna Premier 2000 PD PPO $358.00 $611.00 $1210.00 MC HENRY Gold Land of Lincoln National Premier PPO Plan PPO $353.63 $602.65 $1194.52 MC HENRY Gold Land of Lincoln National Elite PPO Plan PPO $342.38 $583.48 $1156.52 MC HENRY Gold Humana National Preferred Gold 2500/3500 Plan PPO $340.26 $579.88 $1149.38 MC HENRY Gold Blue Cross Blue Shield Premier 1, a Multi-State Plan PPO $339.54 $578.65 $1146.92 MC HENRY Gold Land of Lincoln National Complete PPO Plan PPO $337.28 $574.80 $1139.30 MC HENRY Gold Blue Cross Blue Shield Premier 2, a Multi-State Plan PPO $336.22 $572.99 $1135.72 MC HENRY Gold Land of Lincoln National Confidence PPO Plan PPO $333.97 $569.14 $1128.10 MC HENRY Silver Land of Lincoln National Premier PPO Plan PPO $328.32 $559.52 $1109.04 MC HENRY Gold Land of Lincoln National Preferred PPO Plan PPO $325.33 $554.43 $1098.94 MC HENRY Gold Blue PPO Gold 002 PPO $323.65 $551.56 $1093.22 MC HENRY Silver Aetna Classic 3500 PD PPO $321.00 $547.00 $1086.00 MC HENRY Silver Land of Lincoln National Elite PPO Plan PPO $318.24 $542.34 $1074.98 MC HENRY Gold Blue PPO Gold 001 PPO $313.14 $533.65 $1057.74 MC HENRY Silver Land of Lincoln National Complete PPO Plan PPO $308.33 $525.46 $1041.52 MC HENRY Silver Aetna Classic 5000 PPO $308.00 $524.00 $1038.00 MC HENRY Silver Humana National Preferred Silver 4250/6250 Plan PPO $296.60 $505.46 $1001.88 MC HENRY Silver Land of Lincoln National Preferred PPO Plan PPO $296.00 $504.44 $999.84 MC HENRY Gold Land of Lincoln National Choice PPO Plan PPO $294.42 $501.75 $994.54 MC HENRY Gold Land of Lincoln National Freedom PPO Plan PPO $293.00 $499.32 $989.70 MC HENRY Silver Land of Lincoln National Confidence PPO Plan PPO $290.67 $495.36 $981.84 MC HENRY Silver Humana National Preferred Silver 3650/3650 Plan PPO $288.86 $492.28 $975.74 MC HENRY Platinum Humana Connect Platinum 1000/1500 Plan HMO $285.44 $486.45 $964.20 MC HENRY Bronze Humana National Preferred Bronze 4850/6350 Plan PPO $283.84 $483.72 $958.78 MC HENRY Silver Land of Lincoln National Choice PPO Plan PPO $272.74 $464.80 $921.28 MC HENRY Silver Land of Lincoln National Freedom PPO Plan PPO $272.65 $464.65 $920.96 MC HENRY Silver Blue PPO Silver 004 PPO $268.44 $457.48 $906.76 MC HENRY Silver Blue Cross Blue Shield Solution 3, a Multi-State Plan PPO $258.75 $440.96 $874.02 MC HENRY Silver Blue PPO Silver 003 PPO $256.15 $436.53 $865.26 MC HENRY Bronze Aetna Advantage 5750 PD PPO $254.00 $433.00 $858.00 MC HENRY Gold Humana Connect Gold 2500/3500 Plan HMO $253.17 $431.46 $855.20 MC HENRY Bronze Humana National Preferred Bronze 6300/6300 Plan PPO $251.10 $427.92 $848.18 MC HENRY Silver Blue Cross Blue Shield Solution 4, a Multi-State Plan PPO $248.88 $424.14 $840.68 MC HENRY Bronze Aetna AdvantagePlus 5500 PD PPO $248.00 $422.00 $836.00 MC HENRY Bronze Aetna Advantage 6350 PPO $246.00 $420.00 $832.00 MC HENRY Gold Blue Choice Gold PPO 002 PPO $233.29 $397.58 $788.04 MC HENRY Bronze Land of Lincoln National Complete PPO Plan PPO $230.89 $393.48 $779.92 MC HENRY Bronze Land of Lincoln National Preferred PPO Plan PPO $228.24 $388.96 $770.98 MC HENRY Gold Blue Choice Gold PPO 001 PPO $223.89 $381.55 $756.26 MC HENRY Silver Humana Connect Silver 4600/6300 Plan HMO $219.87 $374.71 $742.70 MC HENRY Bronze Land of Lincoln National Premier PPO Plan PPO $215.86 $367.86 $729.12 MC HENRY Bronze Humana Connect Bronze 4850/6350 Plan HMO $208.99 $356.16 $705.96 MC HENRY Gold Blue Precision Gold HMO 001 HMO $208.17 $354.76 $703.16 MC HENRY Bronze Blue Cross Blue Shield Basic 5, a Multi-State Plan PPO $207.16 $353.04 $699.76 MC HENRY Bronze Blue PPO Bronze 005 PPO $199.18 $339.45 $672.82 MC HENRY Bronze Blue PPO Bronze 006 PPO $197.18 $336.04 $666.06 MC HENRY Catastrophic Humana National Preferred Basic 6350/6350 Plan PPO $196.88 $335.52 $665.02 MC HENRY Bronze Humana Connect Bronze 6300/6300 Plan HMO $193.88 $330.41 $654.90 MC HENRY Catastrophic Blue Security PPO 010 PPO $192.87 $328.69 $651.48 MC HENRY Bronze Land of Lincoln National Choice PPO Plan PPO $192.81 $328.59 $651.30 MC HENRY Bronze Land of Lincoln National Freedom PPO Plan PPO $191.23 $325.89 $645.94 MC HENRY Silver Blue Choice Silver PPO 004 PPO $187.50 $319.54 $633.36 MC HENRY Catastrophic Aetna Basic PPO $185.00 $316.00 $626.00 MC HENRY Silver Blue Precision Silver HMO 002 HMO $179.22 $305.42 $605.36 MC HENRY Silver Blue Choice Silver PPO 003 PPO $177.84 $303.08 $600.72 MC HENRY Catastrophic Humana Connect Basic 6350/6350 Plan HMO $148.24 $252.62 $500.72 MC HENRY Bronze Blue Precision Bronze HMO 003 HMO $138.53 $236.08 $467.94 MC HENRY Bronze Blue Choice Bronze PPO 005 PPO $128.87 $219.62 $435.30 MC HENRY Bronze Blue Choice Bronze PPO 006 PPO $128.78 $219.47 $435.00 No Plan Descriptions Each of those plan names should be a link to a description of the plan so you can see what the hell you are getting for your money. Alas, there is no link. Nor is there a link to the issuer so you can call them. This is why you need to contact a certified In-Person Assister (IPA) to help you figure this all out. Alternatively you can call a Certified Application Counselor (CAC), a community health center, an insurance agent or an insurance broker. The rules say "States with partnership marketplaces must have a separate IPA program. States with state-based marketplaces can choose to have a separate IPA program. States with federally facilitated marketplaces are not permitted to have an IPA program" Confused? Just call your IPA except in the 34 states where you can't. Then call someone else. Navigation Roulette David Steinberg at PJ Media has additional comments and anecdotes about the navigation process in his post Identity Theft Russian Roulette: Healthcare.gov Refers Users to Uncertified Navigators and Assisters I did as Steinberg did. I tried "Find Local Help" for my zipcode and found "461 results". Results display 10 at a time. Most of the contacts require a phone call to schedule an appointment. It seems you need a navigator to help you find a navigator. No problem. If you "didn't find what you were looking for" then the "Contact Us" button will take you to a page where you can "Find Local Help". Alternatively, you can start a live chat. I did not bother with any of that since I have a good plan that fortunately was not cancelled. Thus, I cannot tell you how much additional money Obamacare would have cost me personally. Others can, and the results are best described as ... Obamashock! Prepare to be shocked. Reader Tim Wallace did figure out how much extra Obamacare would cost him. Tim writes ... My plan that I had for years no longer exists.  So much for Obama's claim you can keep your existing plan.  The truly affordable plan I used to have cost me $753.60 per month with a $5,450 family deductible. The most "affordable" plan with similar benefits will cost $1,360.09 per month, except the family deductible is now $11,000.  So much for Obama's claim "your costs will be lower"  I am trying to clarify if I can even have a plan outside the company plan.   Unfortunately the company plan is soaring to $2,100 a month because the plan is located in NJ and I live in NC.  If I can have a plan in NC, it appears I will no longer be able to pay for it in pretax dollars like I used to. That is a hit of another 30% or so.  Unfortunately, I am reading other similar horror stories. If you have a plan you like, I hope you get to keep it. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

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