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A wave of gratitude
Emeritus Professor Rainer Weiss establishes the Barish–Weiss Fellowship
Credit: Bryce Vickmark
Rainer "Rai" Weiss was born in Berlin, Germany in 1932. His family was forced out of Germany by the Nazis since his father was Jewish and a communist. They fled to Prague, in what was then called Czechoslovakia. In 1938, after UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain appeased Adolph Hitler by effectively giving him Czechoslovakia via the Munich Agreement, the family needed to flea Prague as well. They were able to obtain visas to enter the United States through the Stix family in St. Louis. Finally, they emigrated to New York City.
When Weiss was 13 years old, he became fascinated with electronics and music. When World War II ended, he bought some surplus Navy and Army equipment and began making ham radio transmitters and an audio system for his school. Then, after a movie theater in Brooklyn had a fire, he was able to acquire loud speakers and began making high-fidelity equipment. Weiss invited family friends to listen to concerts on his equipment. Word spread of Weiss' speaker systems; and by his senior year of high school, he had more orders than he could handle. Eventually, he ran into a problem that he couldn't solve with the "street" electronics he knew: trying to reduce the hissing noise on the shellac phonograph records by using adaptive filters. That problem convinced Weiss he would do well to go to college.
An MIT dropout
Weiss attended MIT because of his strong interest in electrical engineering. He admits that it scared him when he received the course catalog of everything he had to take, all listed in numbers. He picked electrical engineering as a major, but was disappointed since he would have to take a number of classes before he was able to get to electronics. He ultimately chose physics since the curriculum seemed less rigid. At the beginning of his junior year, Weiss took a trip to Nantucket and met an interesting woman who was a pianist. He fell for her and followed her to Chicago. He took about two months off from MIT since he did not think they took attendance and thought he could get by just by taking the exams. He ended up flunking out of MIT.
Weiss later found a job as a technician in Building 20. It was there that he met the late Professor Jerrold Zacharias, who Weiss says "was the person that had the biggest influence on my life." Through Zacharias, Weiss was able to get back into MIT and finish his undergraduate degree, and later a graduate degree in physics. During his graduate years, Weiss met his wife Rebecca who was working as a botanist for Harvard University. Weiss and Rebecca have two children, Ben, an art historian; and Sarah, who is an ethnomusicologist.
After teaching at Tufts University and taking on a postdoc at Princeton University, Weiss came back to MIT at the request of Zacharias to be an assistant professor in the Research Laboratory of Electronics. Weiss returned and started a research group in cosmology and gravitation. He got the idea for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) when the Department of Physics asked him to teach a graduate course on general relativity. He teamed up with Professor Kip Thorne at Caltech and formed a collaboration between MIT and Caltech with the late Scottish physicist Ronald Drever, also with Caltech.
Gravitational waves to graduate fellowship
When a gravitational wave — a ripple from the distant part of the universe — was detected by the LIGO team, Weiss received a number of awards for the discovery. At first, he was not sure what to do with the prize money. Weiss knew the importance of supporting graduate students. As a faculty member, he would see MIT losing some of the best graduate student applicants to other universities that had the capability of offering graduate student fellowships. He decided to establish a fellowship in the Department of Physics and name it the Barish–Weiss Fellowship. Barry Barish, a professor at Caltech, was instrumental in LIGO's success and shared the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics with Weiss and Thorne.
Weiss is happy that he had the opportunity to give back to MIT. He was so grateful for what Zacharias had done for him that, in many ways, this gift is a tribute to him. Weiss still works every day, even on Saturdays, because he loves his work and being involved with students. When asked what he would say to encourage others to support MIT, he replied, "Anything you can do to help advance students because they are our future."
This story originally ran in the Fall 2018 issue of Physics@MIT.
Erin McGrath, Director of Development for the Department of Math and the Department of Physics
LIGO Physics Rainer Weiss Research Laboratory of Electronics Science at MIT


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Branchiocerianthus urceolus är en nässeldjursart som beskrevs av Hans-Georg Mark 1898. Branchiocerianthus urceolus ingår i släktet Branchiocerianthus och familjen Corymorphidae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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On September 19th 2016, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 140/2016/TT-BTC prescribing the rate, regime of collection and payment of license fee to work on holiday for New Zealand and Australia citizens.
Accordingly, the license fee rate to work on holiday for New Zealand and Australia citizens is 600,000 VND/time/person, applicable for new issuance and 600,000 VND/time/person for reissue.
The license fee shall be collected in Vietnam dong; the collection of fee must be submitted 100% to the state budget.
This Circular replaces Circular 97/2012/TT-BTC on June 18th 2012 and takes effect from January 1st 2017.


Mathematics is one of the key foundational subjects and here at Crickhowell High School we aim as a department to pass on our love and enthusiasm for the subject to our students. The department is made up of dedicated teaching staff with a wide range of interests and experience who share a genuine passion for the subject and its effective delivery throughout the age and ability range. We pride ourselves on promoting Mathematical rigour while giving our students lots of opportunities to think flexibly, and we believe that our success stems somewhat from our own enthusiasm for what we teach.
At Crickhowell High School we believe that Mathematics is a subject that all students can thrive in and as a department we will do everything we can to ensure that all our students reach, fulfil and exceed their potential. We do this through fun, challenging and engaging lessons, carefully monitoring the progress of our students and by providing extracurricular activities. Mathematics is the key to understanding and exploring the world. Everything from iPods and iPhones to space rockets, from Satnavs to computers, depends on mathematics to make it work.
To develop, maintain and stimulate students' curiosity, maintaining their interest and enjoyment of Mathematics.
To develop students' understanding and familiarity of mathematical concepts, principles, methods and terms.
To develop students' understanding of mathematics in its widest context and to see how it relates to life outside of school.
To encourage each student to learn independence in how they approach and solve mathematical problems.
To enable all students to have equal opportunities within their maths lessons and to experience success in their work.
To enable students to develop transferable skills and informed opinions about their mathematics and to be able to support them by reasonable arguments.
These objectives relate directly to the six aims of the Department and are intended to show how the aims are actually put into practice.
Mathematics is creative as well as functional. Every teacher aims to deliver lessons in a meaningful context whilst providing opportunities for the students to use their skills creatively through problem solving and investigation. A variety of experiences and activities will be delivered within each module of study as it is believed that to actively involve the students in their learning will help to foster independent thinking. We also encourage all our students to work to their full potential and to experience a sense of achievement. As a department we set individual targets for all students relating to their ability and understanding. We help students to identify the relationships between different aspects of mathematics to help stimulate curiosity and interest.
The National Curriculum for Mathematics along with the Literacy and Numeracy Framework is used to write interactive and engaging schemes of work. Teachers encourage students to recall and apply their knowledge and skills in familiar and unfamiliar situations and are taught to follow both verbal and written instructions accurately. Teachers refer to work in other areas of the Curriculum when appropriate and expose students to both prescriptive tasks and open-ended investigations.
Students follow differentiated schemes of work which allow for each individual to work at a pace that is appropriate to their ability whilst at the same time setting challenging targets. Close the gap activities are given for independent assessment and are used to support all other forms of teacher assessment and to inform future lesson plans. It is believed they also help students to assess their success and understand which targets they have reached and where additional work is needed.
Members of the department refer to the way Mathematics is used in society so that students realise the true potential of the subject. Discussion is encouraged as part of problem solving, investigations, group work and data collection. Students are encouraged to develop conclusions based on their work. The importance of Mathematics as a cross-curricular skill is recognised. The department is active in helping other parts of the curriculum, and develops staff awareness of using mathematical skills and techniques.


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https://hockeyclan.com/imprezy-dla-singli-plock/
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New Jersey Devils Honor Players of the Month for November/December 2017
January 11, 2018 January 11, 2018 John Christian Hageny 1774 Views Austin Parsons, Brayden Patricia, David Corell, Don Bosco Prep, Glen Rock, Matt Maselli, Mickey Burns, Montclair, Morristown-Beard, New Jersey Devils, Pat Ledgett, Pingry, Plainsboro, Players of the Month, Wall Township, West Windsor, Zach Tarantino
NEW JERSEY DEVILS' HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS OF THE MONTH HONORED
SEVEN SENIORS, SIX FORWARDS AND ONE DEFENSEMAN, HIGHLIGHT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 SELECTIONS
The New Jersey Devils High School Player of the Month Program continues in this, their 26th season honoring the top scholastic hockey players in the Garden State.
Players named for November/December 2017 are: Don Bosco Prep senior forward Mickey Burns (Gordon Conference); Glen Rock senior forward Matt Maselli (Big North Conference), West Windsor-Plainsboro senior forward David Corell (Colonial Valley Conference), Montclair senior forward Pat Ledgett (Essex/Union), Morristown-Beard senior forward Brayden Patricia (MCSSIHL), Pingry senior defenseman Austin Parsons (Greater Middlesex/Skyland Conference) and Wall Township senior forward Zach Tarantino (Shore Conference).
Each month, December through February, seven student-athletes from throughout the state are selected as recipients of the award. Public A, Public B, Public C and Non-Public All-Tournament Teams will be selected in March and an overall Boys and Girls High School Player of the Year will also be chosen at the conclusion of the season.
Mickey Burns in action against Boston College High School at Walter Brown Arena in Boston, Massachusetts on December 16, 2017. (Photo courtesy of NJSportsMedia).
Burns, The HockeyClan/Buttendz State Player of the Month, recorded 10 goals and 29 points during an undefeated month for Don Bosco Prep, No. 1 in The Hockey Advantage Private Schools Top 10. Highlights for Burns include striking for eight points (two goals and six assists) in an 11-5 victory over St. Augustine on Dec. 3 before coming up with six points (goal and five assists) in an 8-1 victory over The Hun School of Princeton in the High School Winter Classic at Citi Field in Queens on Jan. 3.
After registering 38 points as a junior, Maselli accounted for more than half those numbers in November/December with 12 goals and 21 points, including a hat trick in a 4-2 victory over North Jersey rival, Ramsey, on Dec. 10. Maselli is the defending NJSIAA Public B state champions team captain.
Corell recorded 12 goals and nine assists for West Windsor-Plainsboro, leading the team as well as the Colonial Valley Conference in scoring. Highlights include a four-goal, six-point effort in a 12-4 triumph over Brick Memorial on Dec. 15.
Ledgett, described by Montclair coach Pat Verney as, "a great leader who epitomizes our program in terms of the way he prepares and leads, and the way he's played defensively, has been brilliant in big spots." The Montclair team captain registered nine goals and 12 assists in 10 games this past month.
Patricia notched 11 goals and five assists for in a standout performance for Morristown-Beard in November/December. Highlights include a goal and three assists in a 6-3 win over Seton Hall Prep on Dec. 22, a hat trick including the game-winning goal in a 4-3 overtime victory over LaSalle (PA) on Dec. 20, and both goals in a 2-2 tie with Randolph on Dec. 5.
Parsons, Pingry's own MVP after an impressive 7-1-1 start, stood tall with five goals and five assists. The Martinsville school's senior defenseman is committed to The University of Notre Dame next year to throw javelin.
Tarantino enjoyed a breakout start to the 2017-18 season as the senior forward amassed 15 goals and 24 assists for an astounding 39 points for Wall Township. Highlights include two seven-point games: four goals, three assists in a 10-0 win over Rumson-Fair Haven on Dec. 11, and a two-goal, five assists performance in an 8-3 victory over Jackson Liberty on Dec. 27.
Winners are based on nominations received from members of the media who cover the state's scholastic hockey. Award winners and their guests receive tickets to a Devils game, a plaque presented by a Devils' player and dinner compliments of the Devils. Players are tentatively scheduled to be honored on Thursday, Jan. 25 versus the Nashville Predators.
This marks the 26th season the Devils honor high school student-athletes.
2016-17 SELECTIONS
Devils' All-Tournament Teams
Devils' Players of the Month of February
Devils' Players of the Month of January
Devils' Players of the Month of December
Devils' Players for the Month of December
Devils' Players for the Month of February
Devils' Players for the Month of January
Written by John Christian Hageny / @JCCSPORTS
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Rivalry Renewed! New Jersey Devils Beat New York Rangers, 5-2
October 17, 2019 John Christian Hageny Comments Off on Rivalry Renewed! New Jersey Devils Beat New York Rangers, 5-2
Brodeur, St. Louis, O'Ree Highlight Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2018
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North Carolina's most remote health clinic?
By C. Leinbach on August 4, 2019
Among the Ocracoke Health Center staff are Christine McNerny, R.N., and Merrian Midgette, receptionist. Photo: C. Leinbach
The Ocracoke Seafood Festival, to benefit the health center, will be held from 3 to 10 pm, Saturday, Aug. 31, in the Berkley Barn.
By Rose Hoban
Cheryl Ballance sometimes has had to tell summer guests not to come to Ocracoke.
Ballance, the long-time chief executive officer of the Ocracoke Health Center, once got a call from a woman who was nine months into a high-risk pregnancy and wanted to know what the health resources were.
"Oh, you really need to look at the map," she had said before going on to explain that if the woman went into labor, she'd be several hours from a facility that could safely deliver her.
Ballance, an R.N., has seen and heard it all—from the 1,000-plus year-round residents and several thousand visitors daily during the summer season.
That makes the health center, helmed by the island's only doctor, Erin Baker, D.O., an important place on this island, providing many health services in a friendly office setting. Supplementing island health care is Gail Covington, a nurse practitioner, who provides services in home on Ocracoke and Hatteras islands, but who does not take insurance.
But the past few years have been challenging financially. Ballance said it's difficult to keep providing high quality care on a shrinking health care dollar in one of the most remote and sparsely populated parts of the state.
About a third of her patients are uninsured, even as they work two to four gigs at a time during tourist season, and the center does not turn anyone away.
"The people who support this whole resort are people who are only employed, if they're lucky, somewhat in April, May, June, July, August, and if we don't have hurricanes September and October," she said. "Then by November, everything is closed. They're making a year's worth of income during that five- to six-month period."
Then, for many people on the island, funds begin to dwindle in the lean months of late winter, especially as unemployment checks peter out. It's something familiar to Erin O'Neal, the clinic's chief operating officer, who used to work in restaurants when she'd come home from school.
Ocracoke Health Center. Photo: P. Vankevich
The isolation tourists crave makes for challenges for the locals.
When Vince O'Neal (related to Erin O'Neal, who's married to Vince's cousin, Chad) was a kid on Ocracoke, his only medical encounters were with the school nurse or his grandmother, a midwife who delivered the island's babies for decades. That was before the clinic started in 1981.
"We did not have any kind of medical services here until that clinic was built," said the 59-year-old restaurant owner, and, by his reckoning, eighth generation Ocracoker.
Otherwise, it was off the island to the doctor, a trip that could take hours, or even a whole day. To visit specialists, islanders must take a day or more to do so.
Access to emergency care from Ocracoke has gotten better over the years. There are always emergency medical technicians on the island and helicopter service to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, but there's no pharmacy and no lab.
Getting off the island takes hours by ferry to mainland Hyde and then to the nearest hospital, or an hourlong ferry ride to Hatteras from the northern end of the island and then another 90 minutes to Nags Head.
So much depends on the ferries. If the weather turns stormy, or foggy, the ferries don't run. Even when they do, getting to a specialist off island can mean getting up at 3:30 to get the 5 a.m. Hatteras run. Prescriptions? They come by courier from Beach Pharmacy in Hatteras every afternoon.
Many of the clinic's child patients are covered by Medicaid, but Ballance said uncertainty looms about that payment stream as the program gets set to transform from a fee-for-service to managed-care payment regimen where clinics such as OHC get paid a set monthly fee in return for providing all of a patient's needs.
The Ocracoke Health Center recently got a much-needed new floor thanks to grants but more money is needed for other building repairs. Photo: C. Leinbach
And Ballance wants to make sure she gets the same reimbursement percentages from all providers.
The OHC has achieved the benchmarks required to be a "quality provider" for Blue Cross Blue Shield, which comes with enhanced payment. But the extra work to become a quality provider has meant extra work.
"We're almost at that breaking point. I mean, we're really on the brink, that we have to hire another person," to fulfill the quality tasks plus do paperwork, she said, noting that the cost of living and lack of low-cost housing on Ocracoke can make it challenging to recruit year-round workers. "We don't earn resort income, but we pay resort prices to live here," she said.
Even the well-paying patients haven't been as profitable of late. Traditionally, the clinic has treated tourists, who do often have jobs – with insurance – that pay enough for them to come to the island for a vacation. But commercial reimbursements haven't kept pace.
"We barely do a margin in our busy season, June, July and August," Ballance said.
If it weren't for the funds the center gets for being a "federally qualified" health center, the fundraising, and foundation grants, there'd be no way to keep health care going on the island.
That's why the health center is mounting a Seafood Festival from 4 to 11 p.m. Aug. 31 to raise about $80,000 needed to make building repairs, among other needs.
"Health care is vitally important for the island, both to meet the needs of the local community and the tourist population," said Helena Stevens, executive director of the Ocracoke Civic and Business Association.
She wouldn't even speculate what losing the clinic would mean to the island.
Rose Hoban, an R.N., is the founder and editor of North Carolina Health News, an online news outlet at nchealthnews.org covering health issues statewide.
To hear Hoban's interview Aug. 8 with WUNC's Frank Stasio, click here.
Categories: Connecting People to Places, News
Tagged as: Ocracoke Health Center
Ocracoke Seafood Festival Aug. 31 to benefit Ocracoke Health Center
Ocracoke events Aug. 5 to 11


mental capability to rule the State.
forthcoming 2019 governorship election in the State.
which political party would win the 2019 Lagos guber race.
candidate was not fit mentally to rule the State.
implications on the governance of the State.
reputable hospital in Nigeria and abroad.
mental fitness of those who aspired to be their political leader.


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Samsung, Corning Formed Another New Joint-Venture, Will Invest $600 Million On New LCD Glass Substrate Facility
Posted on Jul 24 2012 - 12:44pm by Editorial Staff
CorningInvestmentLCDLCD GlassSamsung
How A Foreign Investor Can Start A Company In Turkey
Breaking: Twitter Rings The Bell, Turns Public
Twitter Prices Its IPO At $26 Per Share
Corning and Samsung today announced the formation of a new joint venture with commitment of spending $600 million to construct a new LCD glass substrate facility in the People's Republic of China. The new equity venture is expected to be formed later this year, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals.
The manufacturing plant will have Gen 8 (2,200 x 2,500 mm) glass-melting and finishing capability. Construction of the facility will start by the end of 2012, with production expected to begin at the end of 2013, in time to meet demand for the start-up of Samsung Suzhou LCD. This newest venture will be an extension of a decades-long alliance between Samsung and Corning.
"China's LCD TV end market represents more than 20% of the worldwide total. Consequently, LCD panel manufacturers have been investing in China-based production," said Donggun Park, executive vice president of Samsung Display and leader of the company's LCD business. "Our new LCD glass venture with Corning will help enable Samsung Display to succeed in capturing a leading portion of this market through our new Samsung Suzhou LCD entity in China," Park said.
(Image Source: Samsung logo, Featured Image)


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The Beginning Of The Endgame
Written by Syndicated Publisher No Comments
About this time two years ago I began to seriously work with Jonathan Tepper on our book Endgame: The End of the Debt Supercycle and How It Changed Everything. It came out the following March. I remember vividly that in November of that year, as crisis after crisis hit Europe, and the first of about 20 summit meetings which were supposed to solve the crisis was convened, that Jonathan and I worried that the book would not be out in time to actually catch the Endgame before it happened (at least in Europe).
Ah, such naiveté from your humble analysts. While we predicted (in general) pretty much everything that has happened so far, from Greece to Spain to Italy, the problems with "austerity" in times of crisis, the even larger eventual problems of postponing the day of reckoning, etc., we now must stand back and shake our heads in awe and wonder at the ability of European leaders to kick the can down the road. Given the serious nature of the problems, it is amazing (to us at least) that they have been able to keep the wheels from coming off. In the face of the powerful centrifugal forces that should have torn Europe apart, we must pause and give serious thought to why they have not done so already.
(In the book, we also discussed at length the problems in Japan and the US and looked at several other problematical countries, but we were not worried that those events would preempt our publishing deadline. Those problems are still in our future, but coming at us ever faster as times gallops on.)
For the last year I have been writing that it is not clear that Europe (with the probable exception of Greece) will in fact break up. The forces that would see a strong fiscal union are quite powerful. In today's letter, I will try to bring you up to date on some insights I have had in the 18 months since we did the final book edits.
Your Not So Bearish but Definitely Concerned Analyst
I want to start with a simple observation. I am described by most of my readers and certainly most of the press as "bearish." I am not. I am actually quite the optimist. I have a very positive outlook on the rise of the human condition and the accelerating pace of technology, and believe we are at the brink of an unimaginable era of abundance. My personal investment portfolio is weighted far too heavily on the venture capital end for someone of my (ahem) age. (I would be aghast if anyone I was consulting with had a portfolio that looked like mine!) My personal business is nothing if not based on an optimistic view of the world.
Yes, I have long made the case that we are in a secular bear market in the US (and much of the developed world). But that simply means that I think equities in general offer little upside potential at today's valuations. These periods run in very long cycles and to ignore them is simply, well, dumb. So we look for opportunities elsewhere than in index investing. What makes it particularly challenging today is that central banks are pushing interest rates down and forcing investors to work far harder for their returns. Simple bond investing will not give us the returns that most of us need for our retirement and desired lifestyles.
I prefer to think of myself as an optimistic realist. Rather than trying to force or vainly hoping for a return that is not there, I choose to look elsewhere. There are always opportunities somewhere. In preference to index investing, I look for specific targets. You might say that I prefer a rifle to a shotgun.
Of course, if your worldview is consumed by US equities, if you live and die by every move of the market, then I might seem like a bear to you. I would suggest that if that is the case, you might want to broaden your investment horizons.
What I am bearish on, however, is governments gone wild with ever-increasing taxes and spending, and especially governments that take on too much debt. When governments decide to spend today more than they can collect in taxes; when they borrow ever-greater amounts to live a national lifestyle that is beyond their means, obliging our children to pay in the future for our spending today to maintain that lifestyle; we know that there will eventually be a day of reckoning.
That day comes when the debt is growing faster than the economy. The final Bang! moment happens when the total interest on the debt overwhelms the nominal growth of the economy.
When that happens, whether to a family, a company, or a nation, either spending must be slashed or taxes raised (which will hurt overall growth), or there will be a default. There comes a moment when investors start to worry more about the return of their capital than the return on their capital. Rates begin to creep upward and the process turns into an ever-tightening spiral of rising taxes and falling spending (which we currently call austerity), which hampers the growth of the nation and makes it ever more difficult to escape the debt trap.
In the course of human experience we have watched this process unfold literally hundreds of times, yet we never seem to learn. Somehow, we always manage to tell ourselves that this time is different. Someone else can pay more taxes. We can grow our way out of the problem, just like we did the last time. Or we settle for the desperate, cynical belief that future generations will sacrifice their lifestyles so that we can get paid our unfunded pensions and health care.
Sidebar: my friend Mike Shedlock chronicled this week a rather sobering set of statistics. The US now has more people on government pensions than workers in the private workforce.
· As of 2012-06 there were 111,145,000 in the private workforce.
· As of 2012-06 there were 56,174,538 collecting some form of Social Security or disability benefit.
· The ratio of SS beneficiaries to private employees just passed the 50% mark (50.54%).
This next chart, from the St. Louis Fed, shows us that the problem is rapidly growing. The accelerating growth in recent years is just going to increase, because the Baby Boom generation is just starting to retire (sadly, I am now eligible for Social Security, if I want to "retire" early). Keep in mind, this is just Social Security; healthcare is far worse.
The same story can be told in many countries throughout the developed world. The US is in worse shape than Europe as a whole, though many countries in Europe are in much worse shape. And forget about Japan. But back to our original topic.
I am bearish on much of the developed world, because the majority of "developed-nation" governments have simply gone too far in debt creation. By "gone too far" I mean that the debt is now too large for them to grow their way out of it. Dealing with the debt is, at best, going to hurt growth and at worst will result in depressions.
A Quick Trip Around the World
Let's take a quick turn around the world. The eurozone part of Europe is well on its way to becoming an economic basket case. Much of the continent is on its way to a true (deflationary) depression. The United Kingdom is going to be growth-challenged at best for the rest of the decade; but given its control of its monetary system, it can try to slowly inflate its way out while allowing nominal growth in the economy and reining in spending. The process will not be without its difficult moments.
Scandinavia is by and large going to be OK, as their economies have either already dealt with the debt crisis (Sweden) or are in control of their own monetary destinies. That being said, Finland will be an interesting study. It is on solid financial ground and has a very low fiscal deficit (it has often run surpluses). The euro could be seen as an unwanted anchor by many Finns, especially if eurozone membership requires substantial taxes and guarantees from the government. Finns have made very clear their objection to bailouts, and it will be interesting to watch how this small and fairly conservative (in terms of budgets) nation deals with its less fastidious southern partners.
Canada dealt with its debt crisis in the early '90s. A quite-liberal government was elected on a fairly far-left platform and then proceeded to forget most of the platform in the midst of the crisis, and did what had to be done to get the budget deficit and debt back under control. And it worked quite well.
We wrote about Australia in a full chapter of Endgame. Their economy never really suffered in the recent debt crisis, in large part due to their growing housing market and their trade with China. If you talk to the average Aussie, they think that all is right with the world. They acknowledge a few issues but see nothing major like the rest of the world has experienced. Jonathan and I think otherwise. Their housing market is by recent standards in a clear bubble (which I know will get me a lot of email). Their banking system is dominated by foreign deposits (shades of Northern Rock, but not as bad as Iceland). They are vulnerable to a Chinese economic slowdown. I should note that Chinese GDP growth was "down" to 7.6% last quarter. That China might slow down should not come as a surprise. No country can grow at 10% forever. Eventually the laws of large numbers and compounding take over. All that being said, Australian government debt and deficits are under control. Any problems should be of the nature of "normal" business-cycle recessions and accompanying issues.
My views on Japan are well-known. For new readers, I am given to referring to Japan as a bug in search of a windshield. They can run such huge deficits and sustain the highest debt-to-GDP on record because they have taken their vast savings of the last 50 years to fund the government debt. But the country is aging and the savings rate will soon go negative. Couple that with recent trade deficits and the outlook is grim. They can either raise taxes and cut spending to close their 10% deficits, or print money. Or both. We can see from history how that turns out. Japan will be no different. There is no new math that will somehow enable them to avoid the fundamental consequences of too much debt. I think the yen is a massive short.
The US will have an election this fall, in part to determine how we deal with our own debt issues. If we get the deficit under control (on what I call a glide path to a balanced budget), and couple that with tax reform (see, I really am an optimist), we can avoid becoming eurozone Europe. That implies a much lower growth rate for much of the rest of the decade, for reasons I have written about at length (and that we cover in the book); but we should be able to avoid hitting the wall. If however we avoid the issue, we will turn into Spain faster than you can say spit. It will not be pretty. Ours will be a different type of depression than Europe's, but a depression nonetheless.
The rest of the developing world will have to adjust to that reality. The large engines of growth in the developed world are either going into reverse or sputtering along at lower speeds. I am not suggesting that trade will stop, but it will slow. All in all, we face a most challenging environment.
So with that backdrop, let's take a brief look at some new insights on Europe that have come about since the final edits of the book.
While the problems in the US, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Europe all stem from too much sovereign (government) debt, there are very real differences in how the Endgame plays out.
Europe has the basic problem of a being a monetary union without fiscal union. By that we mean that the eurozone nations have decided to use the same currency and central bank but have very different economies. Some countries need economic stimulus and the ability to lower the value of their currency (because of the relative value of their labor), and different countries have different inflation rates. One central bank size does not fit all.
There are three basic problems. All three must be dealt with or there can be no balanced outcome.
First, there is too much sovereign debt in the peripheral countries of Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Ireland had a monster banking crisis (due to its housing bubble) and was forced to bail out its banks, and thus acquired too much debt.
Spain had a huge housing bubble that at its peak generated 17% of its economy in housing construction and real estate-related activities. Given the total collapse in that sector, is it any wonder that unemployment is 23%? This has wreaked havoc on the national budget, causing very large deficits. Plus, the Spanish banking system has been completely bankrupt for some time. We pointed all of this out in our book. And were told that we simply did not understand the problems of Spain. Some of the Spanish press was not kind. Up until a few months ago, the Spanish government fiercely denied there was any problem in its banking sector at all. Now they have had to ask for a €100-billion bailout.
Sidebar: Many thought German Chancellor Angela Merkel caved in to Italian and Spanish demands for relief. Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy said the money would come with no strings attached. He was mistaken. This week the agreement arrived, with 32 strings attached, some of which require serious austerity measures. Spain is supposed to cut its deficit to the 3% range. It is closer to 9% now. A 6% GDP cut in one year will reduce tax revenues more than forecast, so the deficit will be worse than forecast, therefore requiring more spending cuts and taxes to be raised. Merkel has been shown to be quite adamant in her demands, and her approval rate in Germany has gone up and is now at 66% for her handling of the eurozone crisis. She will not win any approval polls at all in Spain, Italy, or Greece; but those voters don't keep her in office.
Spain is now over the 7% level for its 10-year debt. Its two-year bond is now at 4.5%. Spain cannot even switch to short-term funding to relieve its debt pressure. It will soon lose access to the bond market at any price less than 10%, which is totally unsustainable. While Spain is not Greece, as the causes of its problems are very different, the result is the same. Too much debt means the loss of bond-market access. Spain will soon need a major bailout. And that will come – it MUST come – with defaults on at least a portion of the debt. The default may have another name, like "restructuring"; but bond holders will not get what they thought they were buying. Call it what you will, this will be default. Spain simply cannot service the debt it must take on.
Italy has run up over 120% debt-to-GDP and its 10-year bond is in the 6% range, which is unsustainable at current budget, tax, and spending levels. Six percent is clearly beyond the potential growth rate of Italy. Moody's just downgraded the country to only two notches above junk-bond level and left it with a negative outlook. Sean Egan had downgraded them already.
I have written about the problems of Belgium before. Too few analysts pay attention to Belgium, but there are real problems in the country.
The Attack of the Zombie Banks
The second European problem is that its banks were allowed, if not downright encouraged, to leverage their capital by as much as forty to one with sovereign debt. Banks had to post no reserves for government debt, whether Greek, Spanish or German, as everyone "knew" that developed countries could not default. Except now it turns out they can.
Greece was a European banking nightmare. Spain will be a nightmare on steroids. When Italy starts to have problems, it will look like some B-grade horror movie where zombies keep coming and coming at the poor victims. Slash and hack at them as you will, they just seem to keep popping up around every corner.
The problem with Spanish banks was not too much sovereign debt but too many bad real estate loans. But that has morphed into national economic woes. And what did Spanish banks do with their round of ECB money (the recent LTRO)? They were able to borrow from the ECB at 1% and bought Spanish sovereign debt at 4-6%. Which is the only way that Spain was able to fund its recent bond offerings.
A dysfunctional banking sector is a major drag on any nation. And European companies are about twice as dependent as US companies on the banking system. As an aside, I would not be surprised if ECB President Mario Draghi cut the rate at which the ECB takes deposits from banks to zero or even negative interest, to try and force banks to do something with their money. That will be interesting to watch.
The Unmentionable Problem of Europe
And then there is the third problem: the trade imbalances between northern Europe (Germany, et al.) and the south are not being dealt with. Since the creation of the euro, German workers have become significantly more productive than Greek, Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese workers, to varying degrees. But these trade deficits must be addressed if budgets are to be balanced. And that means lower relative wages in the peripheral countries or higher wages in Germany and the rest of the more-productive north.
If, somehow, some magic is found to deal with the sovereign-debt and banking crisis, the trade imbalances will still be there. And the only realistic way to deal with them is for wages to come down in peripheral Europe. And that will not happen overnight. There will be lingering recessions or depressions in those countries as wages are adjusted. All while governments are forced to cut spending.
Normally, such imbalances are dealt with by currency adjustments. A nation like Italy regularly devalued its currency. But now the peripheral nations have no control over the value of their currency (the euro), so it is wages that must be adjusted. And since no one gets elected on a platform that says all workers must take a 20% pay cut, they're in for a long adjustment period.
For the eurozone not to break up and Europe to form a true fiscal unionfor, all three problems must be addressed and solved. There is no halfway measure that will suffice. Or at least there are no examples in history that I can find.
Austerity measures mean slower growth and an increasingly poor economy, until such time as that magical rebalancing has been achieved. And that takes time. But, as we shall see, time is not on the side of European leaders.
The New Religion of Europe
It is not news that Europe has become increasingly less religious. Church attendance is down, and polls show that there are fewer adherents in Europe than ever.
But there is a new religion that has risen almost without notice. And that is the tent meeting, featuring the revival-like fervor of those who wish for a united Europe, not only monetarily but as a true fiscal whole.
This would be the triumph of hope over history. The problems of creating a monetary union without fiscal union were ignored at the founding of the eurozone. The founders explicitly said that it would be for the next generation to deal with fiscal union. They made it as expensive as possible for a nation to withdraw and left no legal means to do so. Breaking apart the eurozone would be a disaster of the first order. Think at least 7 or 8 of the biblical plagues.
Thus, European government leaders and business elites, especially the financial-system elites, are almost religious in their insistence that there can be no outcome but fiscal union. And they include Angela Merkel. She wants fiscal union on her terms, but she is hell-bent on achieving it, even if it means Germany must give up a significant part of its sovereignty and lose control of the eurozone after such a union is achieved. And while Germany will be the largest part of the union, by economic power and the sheer number of voters, they will not be in the majority. They will lose their ability to dictate how the EU is run by withholding their checkbook.
Even Angela Merkel knows that a fiscal union will eventually mean eurobonds and the mutualization of debt. And that means some mechanism must be created to pay for those bonds. Which in turn requires a de facto taxing authority for the EU parliament. Germany will become just one state among many. Important, powerful, but just one state. And subject to eurozone-wide taxes to pay for those eurobonds, no matter how the terms are couched.
Merkel and other European leaders have not really prepared their voters to deal with the coming changes in sovereignty. But the day is going to dawn when the leaders must come clean and tell their populations what they are planning. And for that matter, the rest of us would like to know, too.
And it is not just Germany. How is France going to react? I think a strong fiscal union and giving up significant sovereignty might be a much harder sell to the French than to the Germans.
Will All Europeans Become Germans?
And finally, let's close with this thought. Does Germany really think that in some future nirvana-like fiscal union, the Greeks, Spanish, and Italians are going to pay their taxes like the Germans do? Really? If their respective governments can't collect taxes now, what makes one think that a eurozone fiscal authority will do any better? Or do they think it will become acceptable for Germans to start behaving like Greeks or Italians, when it comes to taxes?
Do you really think that Germans (or the Dutch or Finns or Irish) will pay their taxes and be unconcerned that citizens of other states are not?
That is the question that must be dealt with, and Merkel and the other northern-tier leaders know it. The issue of trust is huge if you are going to enter into a union with willing populations.
There is considerable momentum being built in Italy among those who would like to leave the euro and return to the lira. Berlusconi has spoken such thoughts, as has the Lega Nord, a significant political party in northern Italy. And so have other, smaller parties. There is also supposedly some serious corporate backing for such a movement, as they hanker for the good old days of devaluation and easier competition.
The Finns have their euro-skeptics, as well as the Dutch. Those being asked to write the checks are leery of signing them and leaving the amounts to be filled in later. And that is where the economic rubber meets the road.
Europe is now faced with a choice between Disaster A and Disaster B. Disaster A breaks up the euro. Disaster B keeps the eurozone together. Both are horrifically expensive, just in different ways. If Germany were to leave the euro it would mean an almost immediate appreciation of the new deutschmark – and a serious hit to their export machine, which is 40% of their economy. Half of those exports are to their European partners. If even 5% of their exports were lost, it would mean a deep recession. And that is a very low estimate of what would be lost, from what I have read. Merkel and other German leaders know the huge price Germany will pay if they leave the eurozone. And the same goes for the other northern countries.
But staying in the eurozone will also entail huge costs. Germany will be forced to help Spain and Italy. Or allow the ECB to monetize their debts, in some form, for a long time. Which will have a significant impact on the value of the euro and lead to inflation, something the Germans greatly fear. German Finance Minister Schauble now allows that 2% inflation would be OK. Privately, he admits it will be at least 4-5%. IF they can hold it to that once the peripheral nations have started to take the drug of monetized debt that others pay for. That is a very difficult habit to shake.
Let's close with part of a piece from this weekend's Financial Times, which speaks to the angst in Germany. This is no trivial matter. It is not clear, at least to me, whether the eurozone will break up or there will be fiscal union. I think, on balance, that the eurozone should break up, due to the immense problems that must be faced in trying to hold it together.
But these real-world considerations do not take account of the religious fervor of Europhile leaders and elites. They are totally committed to making it work. And maybe they can find a way to convert a majority of European citizens to their European Union religion. To that we must say amen and offer a fervent prayer that, whatever they do, it is orderly and does not spread contagion to the rest of the world.
The Piece from the Financial Times is headlined:
"German economists slug it out over euro future
"The gloves are finally coming off among Germany's normally sober and scrupulously polite community of economists in a bitter battle over the future of the euro.
"Serious lecturers in the higher flights of public finance and monetary economics have been trading accusations of stirring up nationalist fears in a 'bar-room debate', according to one faction, and deliberately falsifying the facts, according to their opponents.
"At the heart of the confrontation is a distinguished and media-savvy professor, head of one of Germany's most renowned economic institutes. His emotive language and stark warnings of vast European debts guaranteed by Germany have provoked angry counter-charges of populism from his fellow academics.
"Hans-Werner Sinn, professor at Munich university and head of the Ifo economics research institute, was a leading signatory on a doom-laden open letter, published by the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper last week, denouncing the government's moves towards a 'banking union' in the eurozone.
" 'The taxpayers, pensioners and savers of those European countries that are still [financially] sound' should not be expected to guarantee the bank debts of the rest, they declared. The scheme would not save the euro or the European idea, they insisted, but simply benefit the finance houses of Wall Street and London, plus a few rash German investors.
"More than 200 academics have now signed the letter, its authors say. But it has infuriated Wolfgang Schäuble, finance minister, who denounced the writers as 'irresponsible'. Privately he refers to Prof Sinn – whose name means 'sense' – as Prof Unsinn, or 'Nonsense'.
"It has also stirred up the universities. Some 220 academics have signed a counterblast declaring that a banking union is an essential step in managing the eurozone crisis that 'in no way endorses' the collectivisation of bank liabilities.
"A third missive, published in Handelsblatt, the business newspaper, from such luminaries as Bert Rürup, long-serving former chairman of the government's 'five wise men' – its panel of economic advisers – condemns the 'questionable arguments' and 'national clichés' of the original letter. They accuse its authors of 'stirring up fears and emotions' without providing facts to prove their case.
" 'They are like doctors in the emergency ward who say "switch off the oxygen" without having any other solution to offer', says Peter Bofinger, economics professor at Göttingen university and one the 'five wise men'. He challenges Prof Sinn to say precisely where he wants to go.
" 'If they believe Germany would be better off with the Deutschmark again, that is fair enough. But they set off all these fears and anger without providing any other suggestions.' "
(You can read the rest of the piece here.)
Cincinnati, New York, and Singapore
I head out in a few hours to Cincinnati for a quick meeting and then on to New York on Sunday, where I will rest and try to catch up on a few things. Then on Monday I will be on Bloomberg at 7 am with Tom Keene, which is broadcast on both radio and TV. I am also slated to be on Bloomberg radio with my friend Mike Mckee from 10-11. Both are very fun gigs, and I enjoy them immensely. Really great conversations and some time to work through a few ideas.
Monday night I head off to Singapore, where I will deliver the keynote address at a conference on Friday. My tentative title is "The Lion in the Grass." I have been working on this for some time. It is a new speech just for this conference, which has some very serious central bankers and analysts from around the region. (Reading the list of the other speakers makes me wonder if I am there as the comic relief.) The conference is a regional forum of the OCBC bank, with the title "Winds of Change Affecting Asia." And there are some very strong winds blowing about the world. I expect to learn more than I impart.
I leave late that night to come back to New York, where I will stay Saturday night and then move on to Newport to attend a small gathering on behalf of the Net Assessment Office of the US Defense Department, where we will be fleshing out alternative future scenarios. I am really looking forward to that week.
It really is time to hit the send button. I must pack and then get to the airport. Have a great week.
Your looking forward to Singapore Airlines analyst,
subscribers@mauldineconomics.com
Images: Flickr (licence attribution)
John Mauldin is a renowned financial expert, a New York Times best-selling author, and a pioneering online commentator. Each week, over 1 million readers turn to Mauldin for his penetrating view on Wall Street, global markets, and economic history.
Mauldin's weekly e-newsletter, Thoughts from the Frontline, was one of the first publications to provide investors with free, unbiased information and guidance. Today, it is the most widely distributed investment newsletter in the world. Mauldin also offers The Mauldin Circle, a free service that connects accredited investors to an exclusive network of money managers and alternative investment opportunities. (In this regard, he is President and a Registered Representative of Millennium Wave Securities, member FINRA, please see legal disclosures).
Mauldin is a frequent contributor to publications including The Financial Times and The Daily Reckoning, as well as a regular guest on CNBC, Yahoo Tech Ticker, and Bloomberg TV. His books have appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers list four times. They include Bull's Eye Investing:Targeting Real Returns in a Smoke and Mirrors Market, Just One Thing: Twelve of the World's Best Investors Reveal the One Strategy You Can't Overlook, and Endgame: The End of the Debt Supercycle and How it Changes Everything. He also edits the free weekly e-letter Outside the Box.
Mauldin is the President of Millennium Wave Advisors, an investment advisory firm registered with multiple states. He is also a registered representative of Millennium Wave Securities, a FINRA-registered broker-dealer. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive Officer of the American Bureau of Economic Research, a publisher of investment newsletters and books.
Mauldin is one of the founders of Adopting Children Together, the largest adoption support group in Texas. He is currently on the board of directors of The International Reconciliation Coalition. He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Texas.
Mauldin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University in 1972 and his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1974.
Mauldin currently lives in Dallas. He is the proud father of 7 children, 5 of whom are adopted.
The Great Shift From Manufacturing To Services
A Short History Of U.S. National Debt


JNSoftware has updated Dialectic (http://www.jonn8.com/dialectic/), a telephony tool for the Mac, to version 1.8. The upgrade adds: support for Microsoft Outlook 2011; Google Chat support to Google Voice Dial Method; two-step verification support to Google Voice Dial Method; and more.
Dialetic provides system-wide dialing of phone numbers using Bluetooth mobile phones, landlines, many VoIP services and more. It integrates with contact management applications such as Marketcircle Daylite, Microsoft Entourage, Now Contact, Palm Desktop, FileMaker Pro and other databases, as well as Apple's iCal and Address Book.
In addition to dialing, the software provides a global Address Book menu for accessing your contact data including email, instant messaging, postal addresses, URLs, notes, and phone numbers. You can create new email messages, look up addresses on a map, copy data to the clipboard or insert it into your current document.
Dialetic is Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It works with Mac OS X 10.4.9 and higher. It costs US$25.


Just two weeks after the leader of the pro-Russian right-wing terrorist organisation "Donetsk People's Republic" (DNR) Aleksandr Zakharchenko declared that Ukraine was run by "miserable Jews", a delegation of the German party Die Linke visited the author of this anti-Semitic jibe and delivered what they called "humanitarian help".
Previous foreign visitors of right-wing terrorist Zakharchenko included representatives of the European extreme right organisations who have particular links to Die Linke, on which more below.
Both Wolfgang Gehrcke and Andrej Hunko entered Eastern Ukraine illegally. They first travelled from Germany to Moscow's Sheremetyevo International airport and then - to the Russian city of Rostov. From there, they went to Ukraine via a segment of the Ukrainian-Russian border that was not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. Hence, they entered Ukraine without passing any Ukrainian border control point which constitutes an administrative offense (unauthorised border crossing). No internationally recognised body (OSCE or Red Cross) was able to check the contents of Die Linke's alleged "humanitarian help".
Originally they travelled together with another Die Linke's member Julius Zukowski-Krebs, who was going to violate the Ukrainian border too, but he says that he was attacked by a dog and did not go to Ukraine.
Illegal entry in Ukraine and the picture that Die Linke's representatives took together with right-wing terrorist Zakharchenko constitute a very clear political message: Die Linke respects neither the territorial integrity nor the laws or the sovereignty of Ukraine. Furthermore, by entering Ukraine via Rostov, Gehrcke and Hunko followed the route of the Russian troops that continue their invasion of Eastern Ukraine to help the DNR terrorists in their occupation of of particular territories.
This is not the first time when Die Linke cooperated with the pro-Russian extreme right and Putin's right-wing authoritarian regime. In March 2014, Die Linke's representatives Hikmat Al-Sabty, Torsten Koplin (former informant of Stasi), Piotr Luczak and Monika Merk joined German far-right activist and Russia Today celebrity Manuel Ochsenreiter in their trip to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea - then occupied by the Russian troops - to "observe" the illegitimate and illegal "referendum" on the status of Crimea after which Russia annexed this Ukrainian region in violation of every international norm.
It is worth reminding that "observers" of the Crimean "referendum" were invited by two organisations: the Eurasian Observatory for Democracy & Elections (EODE) and the European Centre for Geopolitical Analysis (ECGA). The EODE is headed by Belgian fascist Luc Michel, the leader of the "National-Bolshevik" Parti Communautaire National-européen. The ECGA is headed by Polish far right activist Mateusz Piskorski, a former member of neo-Nazi pagan Niklot group and the right-wing populist Samooborona political party, and contemporary founding member of the "National-Bolshevik" Zmiana party. The activities of the EODE and ECGA are largely funded by Moscow through payments for "observing" and, eventually, legitimising controversial or fraudulent elections and referenda in Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia.
Member of Die Linke Piotr Luczak was one of the directors of the ECGA, but decided to found his own branch of the ECGA in Germany in 2011-2012: Europäisches Zentrum für Geopolitische Analyse e.V. Luczak has been closely cooperating with Piskorski's ECGA and Michel's EODE. For example, in 2011, Luczak took part in the EODE's "election observation mission" in Russia.
In December 2011, Luczak and yet another member of Die Linke Sabine Golczhyk took part in the joint EODE/ECGA "monitoring mission" in Transnistria to legitimise the "presidential election" in this unrecognised "state".
Apart from the Crimean "referendum", Luczak took part in the "monitoring mission" in St. Petersburg on 14 September 2014. The "mission" was coordinated by Piskorski's ECGA and featured, in particular, "election observers" from the far right parties such as Vlaams Belang (Belgium), Front National (France) and Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (Austria).
Die Linke's collaboration with the far right represents yet another example of the growing trend in the EU, namely the tactical convergence of the (far) left and the far right, especially in foreign policy. The (far) left and the far right vote in a similar way in the European Parliament on the issues related to Putin's right-wing authoritarian regime, while the associates of Die Linke in Greece, Syriza, has recently formed a coalition government with the far right Independent Greeks party.
The European far right remains largely a fringe force in the EU, but the "red-brown" collaboration - whether for tactical or any other reasons - between the (far) left and the far right constitutes an increasing threat to liberal democracy in the EU.
It remains unclear if far left is threatening on its own or solely because of its links to far right.
Each side is too weak on its own.
Anton, I wonder if the Italian Northern League support Putin too.
Утвержден список европейских правых организаций, которые примут участие в крупнейшем в России съезде, организованном членами партии "Родина". Международный русский консервативный форум 22 марта должен объединить представленные в Европарламенте националистические партии, в том числе такие влиятельные, как греческая "Золотая заря" и Австрийская партия свободы.
В списке участников — 11 европейских партий, в том числе представленных в Европарламенте. Среди них греческая "Золотая заря", Национал-демократическая партия Германии (НДПГ), Австрийская партия свободы, Партия шведов, Датская партия, Британская национальная партия и т. д.


text:
Tesla shares spike after Elon Musk says he may take electric car maker private
Tweet comes hours after Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund reportedly builds significant stake in Tesla
insider.co.uk
Elon Musk's tweet prompted questions about how serious his intentions were (Image: Getty Images)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that he is considering taking the electric car maker private, causing the company's stock to spike.
In keeping with his unorthodox style, Mr Musk made the out-of-the blue announcement in a terse tweet.
Bid to oust Elon Musk as Tesla chairman rejected
He said he may take the company private at $420 (£325) a share and already has secured funding.
"Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured," Mr Musk tweeted, following up with "good morning" and a smiley emoji.
His tweet came hours after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund had built a significant stake in Tesla, but it was unclear if that was the funding Mr Musk was referring to.
The Financial Times said Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund had built a stake of between 3-5% of Telsa's shares.
Tesla did not immediate respond to requests for comment.
The company's shares were up more than 5% at more than 360 (£278).
It is highly unusual for the head of a major company make a significant announcement in such casual manner.
The tweet prompted questions about how serious Mr Musk's intentions were. His asking price of 420 would be up 22% of Monday's closing share price, and nearly 9% above the stock's all-time closing high of 385.
The figure even drew some jokes on Twitter about whether it was a pot reference, with 420 being a common slang term for marijuana.
Mr Musk's tweet came two weeks after Tesla revealed it had burned through 739.5 (£571m) million in cash on its way to a record 717.5 (£554m) million net loss in the second quarter, as it cranked out more electric cars.
Tesla has spent millions as it reached a goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 sedans per week by the end of June.
The company says production is rising, with the goal of 6,000 per week by the end of August.
Watch how Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket should work
Mr Musk pledged earlier this month to post net profits in future quarters, and he said he expects the company to avoid returning to the markets for capital and to be self-funding going forward.
Tesla privacy concerns
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for markets.com said: "Tesla is again grabbing all the attention after Elon Musk said he will take the company private. A few things to note here.
"One, this would be a massive blow to all the shorts. Musk said the price would $420, well above its record high. Shares in the company surged 11% yesterday to end the day just shy of $380, although in after-hours trading they slid back a touch. Something like a quarter of shares are out on loan short and the losses for all those hedgies would be substantial – estimated in excess of $4bn this year.
"Two, we can expect further volatility in the shares going forward. If it's $420 then we are some way short of that – clearly investors do not believe every Musk says these days. There is a sense that this is Musk at his mercurial worst, trying to defy the short sellers with a blindside move.
"But, three, he absolutely cannot have made a false statement on Twitter and not run into trouble. If the company now does not go private or the price is short of $420, then it is pure and simple manipulation. The SEC will be watching this one very carefully indeed.
Tesla semi truck unveiled by Elon Musk
"Four, Tesla has come up against so much scrutiny and short selling, perhaps going private is the best option. But that does not really take away from the fact that the company needs more funding after burning through the cash faster than a Model 3 Sedan in the desert with a tailwind.
"At $420 it would be a $70bn company without a profit. Public or private, that is a valuation that's beyond the sensible. However, if Saudi Arabia really is behind this and prepared to bankroll Musk then it could be viable."