From Greek Debt to UBER sticking around, this year’s a win so far.
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If you’ve been following the Greek debt crisis for the past decade or so, you’ll understand the insanity of Greece’s debt situation. In sum, Greece owes a lot of folks a lot of money. They’ve been unable to repay these loans, so now they’re asking to borrow more money from those same lenders just so they can turn around and pay the interest payments on the previous debt. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see this is an unsustainable situation. A classic Ponzi scheme. Greece has finally reached a deal with its international creditors for this third bailout, which would provide up to 86 billion euros in exchange for strict terms and government austerity.

Greece is the focus right now, but they’re not alone – several weaker European countries, including Portugal, have been borrowing money from stronger European countries. Many of these smaller countries now fear rising interest rates, which would wreak even more havoc on their ability to repay this massive debt load.

A prolonged Greek debt crisis is likely to slow an already sluggish European economy, which in turn could hinder U.S. exports. About a fifth of American exports are to Europe, and many U.S. companies have already felt a strain to their earnings due to weaker sales and the strong dollar, a result partly of the European Central Bank’s pumping more money into the economy.

For more insight into this issue, click here.

We love Uber. This app is simple to use, puts “route tracking and control” in the hands of the consumer, provides directly billing (no cash or tipping needed), automated email receipts, and even an instant online user feedback/rating system. Oh, and it’s about 50% cheaper than taxis in most markets. Talk about disruptive technology. In just 3 short years, the old school “taxicab” industry has been devastated by this new player.

The question I always ask my Uber driver is “Did you used to drive a taxi?” Surprisingly, my informal survey reveals that about half of my Uber drivers are former taxi drivers. Hasn’t taken the drivers long to figure out where the consumers are going. And most of these drivers also say they much prefer working with Uber – greater flexibility, happier customers and no taxi unions, medallions or special vehicles to deal with.

There are a few cities that continue to protect the taxi industry monopoly, either by not allowing Uber in their market or restricting Uber drivers from airport pickups. This of course leads to higher prices and lower-quality service for the consumer. Chicago is one of these cities. On a recent trip to Chicago, I needed a driver to take me from O’Hare airport to Wisconsin – about a 2 hour drive. I was quoted $400-500 by my taxi driver. So instead, I had him take me about 5 minutes down the road to a convenience store. On the way there, using my Uber app in the backseat of the taxi, I summoned an Uber driver to meet me at that same convenience store. I paid the taxi driver $10 for the short drive and then hopped into the Uber vehicle, a late model SUV. The Uber vehicle was roomy, had leather seats and the driver even had a cold bottled water waiting for me in the back seat. The Uber trip cost me $180.

Companies like Uber are changing our economy and the way people work Check out this recent article on the impact companies like Uber are having on our increasingly “freelance” economy.

When a Federal Reserve Bank branch receives a cash deposit from a bank, it checks the individual notes to determine whether they are fit for future circulation. About one-third of the notes that the Fed receives are not fit, and the Fed destroys them.

The Federal Reserve orders new currency from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which produces the appropriate denominations and ships them directly to the Reserve Banks.