Word: quirks
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...possible to assemble the facts of what China is doing into different narratives. When a research institute in Sichuan publishes a piece on vulnerabilities in the U.S. electrical grid, for example, is it just academic curiosity or something darker? Is China's accumulation of U.S. debt a temporary quirk of the global economy or an expression of the ancient Chinese strategy of shangwu chouti - let your enemy get on the roof, then take the ladder away? It's very hard to know. Chance and the future and what we do now will determine whether China is with us or against...
...addition, a very particular quirk in the Medicaid formula has essentially penalized Louisiana for the recovery efforts going on in the state. Because of the large influx of insurance money and federal grants after Katrina, the per-capita income of Louisiana appeared to rise. In Landrieu’s own words, this formula makes Louisiana seem like Connecticut even though it remains one of the poorest states in the country. This has triggered a readjustment of the amount that the federal government gives to Louisiana, which essentially means that Louisiana will have to come up with an extra $472 million...
...Saving more, another common prescription for fixing the 401(k), has its downside too. That's because of another unpleasant quirk of the 401(k), which was mentioned earlier: the older you are, the riskier a 401(k) gets. That's because contributions make up a very big part of the account's growth in the early years. Later on, once the account has grown, it is much more sensitive to market drops...
...Tuesday, the cash-depleted FDIC hatched a plan to require banks to prepay three years of quarterly fees. The FDIC expects to quickly generate $45 billion in cash, an amount it normally would've had to wait years to get its hands on. But in a quirk of accounting rules, the banks won't have to expense the upfront payments this year, even though they will be handing over the cash in the next few months - in amounts that could run into the billions of dollars for some banks. The FDIC says the move will solve its liquidity problems...
...week the FDIC came up with another solution, which it says will simultaneously boost the fund and not hurt bank earnings or deplete lending. How is it possible that the FDIC's gain will not be a loss to the banking system? It's all thanks to an accounting quirk that allows companies to spend money on something but not actually tell their shareholders about the cost until the asset is gone. For you and me, it would be like shoplifting at the supermarket and then dropping off cash every time you decided to eat something. A can of beans...