from the hip

Danish newspaper Politiken reports that Danish car sales have dropped dramatically:

Private and business car sales in November 2008 were halved compared to the same month in 2007, according to the latest report from Statistics Denmark.
Businesses purchased some 3,600 vehicles in November 2008 – 2,200 fewer than in the same month last year. Private purchases also dropped dramatically – from 9,300 vehicles last November to 4,700 cars this year.
The biggest drop has been in vans and heavy vehicles. Sales of vans of between 3 and 3.5 tonnes have dropped by 60 percent compared with November last year.

It is hard to interpret this as caused by anything else than the financial crisis.

The Danish newspaper Politiken writes that Denmark now is the most expensive country in the EU as far as consumer prices for goods and services is concerned! They write:

Statistics Denmark 2007 figures show Denmark to have the highest consumer prices for goods and services in the 27 European Union countries – 38 percent above the EU average.

Number two on the list is Ireland with 25 percent above the average. The lowest consumer prices among the old EU countries are to be found in Greece and Portugal where prices are 11-15 percent below the average.

The lowest prices are to be found in the new EU countries, with Bulgaria coming in at 53 percent below the EU average.

Denmark is also the most expensive country in the EU for foodstuffs and non-alcoholic beverages where Danish price levels are 43 percent above the EU average.

I am sure those numbers are correct. The only country in Europe more expensive than Denmark is Norway, which is not a member of the EU and thus not included in these statistics.

The purchase of Wachovia is turning out to be quite costly for Wells Fargo, most likely much more so than the bank anticipated.

Wells Fargo will take a $40 billion charge in the fourth quarter for the Wachovia purchase, according to a report from Richard Bove, an analyst in Lutz, Fla., for Ladenburg Thalmann.

Wells Fargo is planning to take care of this by some smart balance sheet adjustments. However, Wells Fargo also has another $10-11 billion in charge due to write downs. That essentially means losses on their own load portfolio.

To fix the capitalization problem that arises, Wells Fargo intends to do a $12.6 billion equity offering and take $25 billion from the government’s troubled assets relief program, among other benefits. However, Wells Fargo is also required to close the $ 15.1 Wachovia deal by the end of the year.

I have a strong feeling Wells Fargo is entering a rough week with on Wall Street!

Also, I am certain there are more skeletons still hiding in the banks’ closets.

It goes on and on – the financial crisis. Now Bank of England slashes interest rates to a 53-year low. The Independent writes:

Interest rates were today slashed to a 53-year low to fight off recession – but fears were growing that hard-pressed homeowners would fail to reap the benefit.

The shock 1.5 per cent cut by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the biggest move since March 1981 and brings rates to 3 per cent – last seen in 1955.

Stock markets were stunned by the size of the cut and experts predicted rates could reach an all-time low of 1.5 per cent by mid-2009 as the Bank desperately bids to ward off a prolonged slump.

Also, the European Central Bank cut interest rates by 50 basis points today and signaled another reduction was possible later this year. In Germany the no. 2 bank has decided to tap into the government rescue plan, and the government will propose tax breaks on car purchases to stimulate spending!

The bottom still seems distant.

See also:

• New York Times: European Banks Reduce Rates, Some Sharply
• Guardian: Shock as Bank of England slashes rates to 3%
• New York Times: Bleak Reports Keep Markets in Free Fall
• Guardian: Wall Street and London shares plunge

In Denmark, body paint is becoming fashionable among pregnant women. They go and get their bodies painted, and then, next, get themselves photographed. This is a nice way to create very special and sometimes even spectacular memories of their pregnancies.

I think the pictures are stunning. Very beautiful, and with some very intriguing designs also!

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