Monthly Archives: December 2012

World’s 50 Safest Banks 2012

"Bank stability remains a pressing concern for the world’s corporations and investors. It is within this context that Global Finance announces its 21st Annual Ranking of the World’s 50 Safest Banks. Canadian banks are the best performing in North America with seven banks in the top 50 compared to five from United States. Banks from Singapore are the strongest in Asia and from Chile in Latin America. Credit ratings and rankings of most European banks have suffered except for those at the very top of the list which have explicit guarantees from AAA rated governments." Continue reading →

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Political Risk – The “Kill Switch” On Your Bank Account

"If you do anything the authorities don’t like - whether it’s speaking out against corruption, not filing your taxes correctly, having a Ron Paul bumper sticker, peacefully ingesting a non-approved substance, or just generally not being an obedient serf - you could find out the hard way that most governments are all too eager to exercise the “kill switch” that they hold over the assets within their reach. You could find your business or bank account shut down with the flip of a switch. In order to minimize your political risk and maximize your freedom, it is best to have your savings in one country, your citizenship in another, and your physical self in a third country." Continue reading →

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IRS looking at Lindsay Lohan’s cash appearance payments

"The night she was arrested outside Club Avenue, Lohan was reportedly searching for her sister’s purse because it contained $10,000 in cash. On Monday, it was revealed that the troubled actress had all of her bank accounts seized by the IRS because she owed in excess of $200,000. And while Lohan remains in serious trouble with the state of California, given that last week charges were filed against her for lying to police the same day she was arrested on assault charges in New York City, we’re told her IRS problems could ultimately prove to be Lohan's undoing." Continue reading →

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New York judge’s ruling sparks nationalist surge in Argentina

"A legal tug-of-war with a $20 billion US hedge fund plays out in a New York case that has sent nationalist sentiment soaring in Argentina and raised concerns about the impact on future efforts to help debt-ridden countries recover. NML Capital, part of American billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management, is among a handful of creditors demanding full repayment of bonds that Argentina defaulted on in 2002. In recent months, the government’s inability to settle with a handful of holdouts led by NML has resulted in one of its Navy tall ships being impounded in Ghana and an expensive court case in New York." Continue reading →

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Two-Track Corporate Justice Is Not the American Way

"State and federal authorities decided against indicting HSBC in a money-laundering case over concerns that criminal charges could jeopardize one of the world's largest banks and ultimately destabilize the global financial system. Instead, HSBC announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to a record $1.92 billion settlement with authorities. The bank faces accusations that it transferred billions of dollars for nations like Iran and enabled Mexican drug cartels to move money illegally through its American subsidiaries. The case raises questions about whether certain financial institutions, having grown so large and interconnected, are too big to indict." Continue reading →

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The Totalitarian One-way Mirror

"An official document produced by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security describes photographers as potential terrorists. The 'Roll Call Release' of November 13 recounted several incidents in which innocent photographers were detained for using cameras in public facilities like airports and shopping malls. Those incidents were described as successes because they served 'awareness and training purposes' – even though they had nothing to do with capturing terrorists or deterring terrorist acts. While police are trained to treat cameras in civilian hands as lethal weapons, the government they serve keeps us under unceasing surveillance." Continue reading →

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Social Security data of 13,000 health care workers mistakenly posted online for 9 days

"About 13,000 California home healthcare workers had their Social Security numbers exposed online for nine days after being mistakenly posted on a website for Medi-Cal, KCRA-TV reported on Tuesday. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHS) confirmed that the leak happened last month, the second security problem involving health care workers in the past five months, before the information was removed from public view." Continue reading →

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Highway Robbery, Cajun Style

"After Tina Beers was stopped for a suspected traffic violation, the officer conducted a search of her minivan because she appeared nervous. He found a large amount of cash that had been bundled in rubber bands and shrink wrap. He claimed that the method of packing the cash suggested that it was drug proceeds, and confiscated it. No crime was committed, no charges were filed, there was no probable cause for the seizure -- but because the money was wrapped in a certain way, and the female driver was nervous in the presence of an armed tax-feeder, the highway robbers in uniform get to keep the cash." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHighway Robbery, Cajun Style

Highway Robbery, Cajun Style

"After Tina Beers was stopped for a suspected traffic violation, the officer conducted a search of her minivan because she appeared nervous. He found a large amount of cash that had been bundled in rubber bands and shrink wrap. He claimed that the method of packing the cash suggested that it was drug proceeds, and confiscated it. No crime was committed, no charges were filed, there was no probable cause for the seizure -- but because the money was wrapped in a certain way, and the female driver was nervous in the presence of an armed tax-feeder, the highway robbers in uniform get to keep the cash." Continue reading →

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Reality Check: Elmwood Place Speed Cameras An example Of “Policing For Profit”?

"For months, we have told you about the controversy over speed cameras in the village of Elmwood Place. In just a matter of months, $470,000 dollars in speeding tickets were mailed to drivers. While hundreds of residents in Elmwood Place have argued to have the cameras removed, the village leadership isn’t listening. Ben Swann of Reality Check is investigating the idea behind 'policing for profit'." Continue reading →

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